Sobriety
by Five seas
Summary: After a drunken one night stand, Ren is left with a hangover, wondering about the girl he's been with. But when he finds her, he is forced to rethink his goals and positions. And find more than he'd expected. RenSally
1. Hypnotizing music

I don't own Shaman king.

This is randomeless.

* * *

**Chapter one**

**Hypnotizing music**

The music was loud and chaotic, banging in his scull like an automatic drill. The sound was something similar to the scratching of nails on a blackboard combined with heavy bass and reckless drumming. It had absolutely nothing with the beautiful, well calculated and harmonic sounds of classical orchestra to which he was so well adapted, but then again, that was the trend.

Nobody was very sure where the invitation for a mask party had come, but since it was a nice opportunity for multicultural experience and making new friends, they had all gone to it. And now they were having fun in the very weird and very drunk Patch way.

Ren took a sip from the…thing he had taken from the nearest trey and winced when the liquid burned his throat. It was disgusting and yet the genius who had thrown the party had forgotten to supply his guests with soft drinks. They were in a big house in the outskirts of the village, recently accommodated to be something between a bar-lounge and a disco. All around the Chinese shaman, people were dancing, laughing or making out on the couches, sometimes the three together. The air was heavy with the breath of the crowd, and he was beginning to experience the first signs of drunkenness.

He leaned on the wall and tried to distract himself from the glass in his hand, but it was there and in time he always went back on it, drinking for the most common of reasons-because he was small, lonely and miserable.

After attempting to spot his friends (unsuccessfully), he sank on a chair near the dance floor and watched the people in semi-delirium. Sweaty bodies moved on their own accord, executing moves that the human spinal cords banned as impossible, and snaked into the steamy air. Ren was dying for a breath of fresh air, but it felt as if his ass was glued to the seat.

Then, once again, he began watching her. For some strange and inexplicable reason, no matter how drunk he was, throughout the entire evening, she always stuck out in the crowd and he saw her better than anyone. Right now she was in the middle of the dance floor, grooving out to the hellish music and throwing him shiny glances over the shoulder.

Ren leaned forward in his chair, his hands playing with the almost empty glass. She knew he watched her, he was sure of it. Why else would she be looking at him so attentively? Oh, she was magnificent, with her oh-so-short red and black dress and her gorgeous legs. The mask hid a good half of her face, but it couldn't conceive the strange, thin curve of her lips.

She watched him and she seduced him, with her flapping hair and provocative smile, with her brilliant eyes and smooth skin, with her sensual dance and her devilish laugh. She was there, always making sure he was watching. And when he realized that his body had suddenly woken up for her, he knew she had accomplished her goal. Damn it!

* * *

The music was lowered to a tentative mixture of Indian music and some bass. Ren was leaning on a window frame, not far from where he had been sitting the whole time, examining the room where the air had somehow been bathed in sensual crimson. The little people that were still in the room were slopped on the couches, or dancing the drunken dance plastered onto each other like tree snails. He was exhausted, yet he knew there was no way to get back in the lodgings without the rest of the gang.

It was late, way past midnight, and they had either passed out on their way to the bathrooms, or had decided to seek some privacy in the rooms upstairs where most of the guests had taken refuge after the climax of the party. Usually, he was going to cross his arms in front of his chest and sulk because he had been dragged into such a degrading situation, but now he was too drunk to care. Sure, he could complain, but given that he was going to have the same hangover as the others in the morning, he was really not the one to talk.

She was still there, leaning on the bar with a whiskey in front of her. She was playing with a toothpick and she was looking straight at him, with feline eyes and a strange twist in her mouth. His senses suddenly woke up and his gaze sharpened, like a predator who's just spotted his prey. She stood up confidently and started walking in a steady, sexy pace towards him, while throwing her glass out the window. For a split second he wondered what would happen to him if in the morning everyone told stories about him and that girl, but in the next second she grabbed his collar, slammed her lips to his and pushed her tongue into his mouth.

There goes all reason, right out the window. Ren had always been amazed at people's stupidity, but now he was growing more willing to join the rows of these stupid people with each second he spent close to her delicious lips. His pride told him to get out of this passive position immediately and he decided to stand up to do so, but actually managed to twist into his own feet.

She grinned against his mouth, still holding him like a good puppy, and led him through the dance floor, occasionally twisting hr body in the rhythm of the music. His arms came around her and he broke the kiss, desperate for air, then buried his face in the crook of his neck, savoring the aroma of her hair.

The dance was slow, heavy and filled with sighs over the lost time, and they danced until their limbs twisted to badly you couldn't tell the one from the other. Then, she pulled him into the shadowy corners, dragging him gently, but surely.

* * *

The door to the miniature bathroom slammed safely shut behind his back, Ren began to wonder where exactly would he allow himself to go. Sure, the alcohol in his system definitely had something to do with him losing all his reserve, but he had always flattered himself to be quite a balanced person. There hadn't been any room for romance in his childhood filled with practicing and practicing for the tournament, training he discovered was entirely useless. How much more of his life was a lie, he asked himself, as he explored her mouth, how many times have I been deceived. I've been told that nobody deserves to be my friend, but that was not right. What about love? Was it just another weakening factor? He thought not.

His hands caressed her breasts through the soft fabric of her shirt. A moan. A sweaty knee pressing between his legs, and a hand dressed in a fingerless glove started to work on his belt buckle. His vision turned into a Technicolor spectrum as she wrapped her fingers around him and started moving up and down. Surprisingly, he hadn't even noticed he was rock hard, but whatever she did, it was highly appreciated.

Ren groaned and pushed her against the sink, grabbing her tight forcefully and attacked her neck. She groaned impatiently, but continued her ministrations, leaving spider-like caresses all over his hardening shaft.

He pushed harder onto her, his hands roaming all over her body and his tongue ravishing her mouth. His usual stoicism called out, saying that he should brace himself and stop right there. They were not doing this on a clear head. Hell, they weren't even sober. There were lots of reasons why they shouldn't do this, starting with the fact that they didn't know each other. He ignored it.

Was there really any point in rebelling against order just because one thing he was being told all his life turned out to be untrue? He thought it did. She continued to torture him, gliding her fingers on him until there was no way for him to get any harder. Turning her around and grabbing her from behind, he felt her breasts while pushing her skirt up to reveal her nice, ripe ass.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked

"You." He whispered in a low, lustful tone.

She didn't bother to take her black bikini off, she just pulled them away enough to gain him access. She let out a husky hiss when he entered her, but it soon turned into a moan of pleasure when he started to move.

This was most definitely the most reckless thing he had ever done, his inner self screamed from the part of his mind that wasn't wrapped in waves of pleasure. Reckless, maybe, but he didn't care. He held her tight as he pumped into her, harder and harder, her grunts and sighs of pleasure arousing him even more.

Yes, it was stupid, but he couldn't stop thinking about this girl in his arms, so soft and so strong at the same time, and the way she was making him forget about everything around him. Her moans of pleasure were becoming more and more primal and wild, she reached back and grabbed his hips, forcing him deeper and deeper into her, until he couldn't handle it anymore and hit the peek, before sending them both into a dazed state of delirium.

* * *

A/N-Hate it? Or you want some more? Do tell. I'll keep writing.


	2. Reflection

* * *

**Chapter two**

**Reflection**

Sally squeezed her eyes against the irritating light of the sun and hid under the covers. She winced when she felt sharp pain in her lower body and sighed in defeat, accepting that she had woken up.

Sitting up, the red head rubbed her temples and took some time to figure out what had caused her hangover. Oh…right. Her clothes from last night were piled on the ground, ragged and torn, and her legs hurt like hell. No wonder she felt like she had gone through a mixer.

_"That's it, Sally, you're not a shy virgin any more…"_ she thought _"No more pigtails and puffy skirts…"_ trying to picture herself like a Lolita, she winced and decided to drop it.

So who had been the guy? She knew she knew him, so probably he was one of Yoh's gang…she remembered blue spiky hair…but everything looked blue there…so perhaps it was Ren or Horo Horo. Hmm…if it was Horo, he would have passed out long before they'd gotten to the foreplay so that left Ren…

_"Oh, so that's why I thought his voice was familiar." _She thought with delight, remembering the effect of excitement he had had on her.

Putting her feet down and standing up with some difficulty, she wondered by and by if he would remember anything. Sure, he was a stoic guy, but they had been both very canned and right now he was probably enjoying the same hangover as her. She laughed-after something like that, who'd want to be reminded of the things he's done.

_"Maybe shouldn't say anything…maybe I should just act as if nothing had happened."_ Remembering some things from the health lectures she attended at school (punishment for setting the gym on fire), Sally made a mental note to pass through the pharmacy…but not before she took a shower.

* * *

Ren woke up with a mouldy taste in his mouth and feeling way happier than he'd ever been. Lying in his bed, he tried to come up with some explanation for it, and when he sat up and razor-sharp pain cut through his scull, he swore that he'd never let anyone drag him to a party again.

Going through his morning rituals, he couldn't stop thinking about last night-he knew he got half seas drunk, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that a part of the evening was a miss. And then, while he was washing his face, he started to remember something about a sink and a dress and a pair of black underwear…

The shock that the realization brought was so sudden he had to grab onto the wall so that he wouldn't fall. He breathed heavily and stared in his reflection in the mirror in horror, before sliding on the ground with his head between his knees.

Oh, Gods, what had he done? Of all the things to do…why hadn't she…what had he done?! Ok, those were too many questions at once. Ren breathed in slowly, counting from ten to one and trying to calm himself. Then he got up, took his clothes off and stepped into the small shower.

He braced his hands on the tiled wall for support as the icy water bombarded his back and while a part of his rational mind scolded him for his stupidity, the other brainstormed the…event, so to speak, trying to find out some rational reason for him not to lynch himself.

Never in his life had he though of a woman in such a way. Not that he thought sex was something wrong or shameful, he was very much aware that it was all a simple physiological process with the purpose of reproduction, which was very vital for the survival of the human race. But he was damned if he had ever imagined that he would treat any woman as if she was some sort of a toy for his own personal amusement (not that he hadn't been told that everyone out of his family were worthless idiots).

Actually, it had never occurred to him that he might find himself in a situation like this-standing stupidly in the shower while wondering who he had screwed up the night before. Sure, at some point, when the time was right, he was going to start dating girls, probably get married because the heir line of his family had to be continued, and have a kid or two (because laws in China really didn't encourage big families).

It was her fault, a part of him called out-she teased him all night long, she was just as drunk as he was, she had been the one to kiss him. But he could've resisted.

Going back to square one, he tried remembering who the woman was, but the little he had heard from her voice was very vague. The specific notes and intonation were lost amongst his other, stronger sensations from the night, and in the end he had almost no idea of her appearance. All he recalled was a mane of red hair, husky, devilish laughter and a very nice ass. So what was he supposed to do-go out feeling every red-headed woman's behind and tell jokes to compare their laughs? Inconceivable. He was Tao Ren. He didn't tell jokes.

But what was he going to do if he did find her, he asked himself while he was dressing up. What should he tell her? What could he possibly tell her? _'Sorry, I believe we had sex last night and I wanted to apologize because it was a mistake?'_ Great, for something like that she was very likely to knock his teeth out. In truth, she was as drunk as he was, so she was not very likely to remember anything. Wasn't it better to just keep quiet?

Had the worst passed? After dealing with guilt, Ren began wondering if their little adventure would go unnoticed. _'We did it standing, back to front, against a sink-is this something easily forgotten?'_ reason asked him, and he realized with horror that they hadn't used any protection. Diseases, AIDS, _oh Gods_, pregnancy-however he looked at it, he had to find her and confront her, no matter how embarrassed he was to talk about it. Especially if she really was pregnant.

After all, he was an heir to one of the richest families in the world. One day, he would run whole corporations, fortunes, his image had to be impeccable, and last but not least-he wasn't some coward that ran from duty. He was going to find her, get things straight, hang around to make sure she was alright, and if she wasn't in a _'delicate condition'_, they could even go out on a real date and get things right.

But what if she was, his annoying consciousness called. Would he make her abort? He had the money to pay for it, but he found something as killing a baby disgusting, and he had read somewhere that something like that left women scared for life. He couldn't let that happen.

So what choice was he left? Marry her? He laughed, imagining his father's face when he brought some girl and told him that he had knocked her up and that hey were engaged. He was probably going to kill her on sight. Elope? And how would they live without his family's money? Aside from fighting and being on top of his class, Ren had absolutely no job qualifications. And in the end, they may be totally different. They may not be able to stand each other. What would they do, stick together for the sake of a child? He knew that the comfort and safety of every new life was a priority, but could he really spend the rest of his life with someone he may not love? Was it actually possible to raise a child properly when his parents don't even respect each other?

Great, however you look at it, I'm deep in the shit, he thought as she left.

* * *

Ren thanked all the Gods he could think of when later that day he sat in Patch Café and the ground still hadn't opened up under his feet to swallow him. Apparently, his friends hadn't been to far from where he had been when the entire gang had returned at 3 AM. All morning, they suffered Anna's torture training as punishment, then had their respective matches and spend the afternoon hanging around the village. Nobody seemed to have noticed Ren's half-hour disappearance and nobody was questioning the stains on his clothes. So far his little venture was remaining unnoticed and the Chinese shaman was hoping it stayed that way.

All day long, he observed the women around him carefully, comparing their build and appearances to the one from last night. Strangely, he had never noticed how many red-heads there was in Patch before he started looking. Lots of them were smiling and some had nice bodies, but he felt he hadn't met the One.

So they sat in Patch café, ordered the cheapest of the terribly expensive dishes and waited for Silva to proceed their order. Chocolove and Horo were fighting once again, Anna was making Yoh sit in the air, Pirika, Tamao and Jun discussed the latest fashions from Cosmopolitan Magazine, and things couldn't be less normal.

"Master Ren, are you alright?" Bason asked quietly.

"Hmm…" Ren just sighed and stared at the ceiling with a tired look in his eyes. Consumed in his thoughts, he didn't notice anything around him until Ryo waved his hands excitedly in the air, called _'Millie-chan' _and before he knew it, the Lilly 5 were sitting on their table, chatting with them.

"Lyserg-sama, how was your day?" Millie asked, causing Ryo to whine in anguish.

"I'm starving, what's on the menu?"

"Oh, Lilly, the prices here are dreadful…Yoh-san, old friends should treat each other." Sharona smiled slyly

"Ok…" Yoh breathed from his air-chair "I'll have a hamburger, please."

"Are you on a diet?" Ellie asked curiously.

"I…sort of…" he looked at Anna and felt her gaze burning him. "Actually, I'm going to pass…you can treat Anna for me."

Ren sighed and wondered how could some people be so frivolous when the times were so serious. He noticed, by-and-by, that Sally was actually red-headed, but he quickly dismissed her on habit. However, no matter how many times he tried to drift in his own world, his eyes fell on her and he couldn't stop staring.

* * *

What were the Lilly 5 for Yoh and his gang? Funny friends-yes, damsels in distress-sometimes, Millie was the object of Ryo's one-sided love and Lilly-the victim of Horo's constant lousy attempts at courting, but Ren had always seen them as another shamans, rivals, never as women. Especially Sally, who looked as if she opened beer bottles with her teeth.

But today, for some reason, the tall woman seemed more feminine than ever-her lips and sides seemed redder, her hair was combed, her posture wasn't so stiff. Of course, the somber look in her eyes hadn't disappeared and she never smiled, but for some reason Ren thought he had never seen a more beautiful girl.

"So it's rice again." Sharona sighed in defeat, realizing she won't get a free meal. "Sally dear, will you go to Silva and give him our order?"

The red-head nodded and stood up. In order to get to the counter, she had to go around Ren's chair, but there was a loose board in the floor, over which she tripped. Ren, reacting on instinct, reached out and grabbed her elbow, but as soon as he saw her in back, trying to stand up from the floor, a bell rang in his head and made him freeze dead in his spot, feeling as if he had been struck by lightening.

He had found Her.

* * *

A/N-Loathe it? Or maybe you want more? Review, I'll keep writing.


	3. Discovery

* * *

**Chapter three**

**Discovery**

Ren sat, immobile like a statue, throughout the whole dinner, with eyes fixed forward and mouth opening to say 'yes' and 'no' in a robot-like manner. He felt as if the whole world had crumbled upon him.

Not that he still didn't find Sally's new looks (whatever she had done to herself) beautiful, but he just couldn't stop asking himself how could have that happened? He had never looked at her like a woman before that day. Maybe it was the fact that he saw her with a dress? No, that was irrelevant.

He couldn't change the fact that she had been the one from last night. Sometime during the course of the evening Ryo had asked Sharona about what they were planning to do and it turned out the Ly's had been to the party (except for Millie, who was too young, and Ellie, who had stayed behind to watch her sister), and that they were crashing in early today. No doubt Sally had to gather her strength, Ren though somberly, as he wondered about what to do next. Either way, he had to talk to her, and then a perfect opportunity for him appeared.

Sally got up, announcing she was tired and wanted to go back, and Ren, seeing it as the perfect occasion for a tête-à-tête, volunteered to walk her home. However, as soon as they found themselves alone, he found that he couldn't open his mouth to speak.

"Er…so…" he drawled, looking for the right way to begin "Did you…um…like the party yesterday?"

Sally was looking at him with raised eyebrows, then suddenly said:

"Are you referring to the dancing or to the fact that we had sex in the bathroom?"

Ren froze dead in his tracks, choking on his own spit and then looked around as if to make sure nobody had heard her. Thankfully, the people were too busy talking and making out to notice.

"Would it be too cliché if I ask you what are you talking about?"

"If you want." She shrugged

"Look, I really, really didn't meant to…"

"Save your breath, I know it was a mistake." Her tone was so casual he was almost scared of what she was going to do "We were both blind drunk so it's not so hard to explain. Let's just forget about it."

"But…but…that's impossible. What about HIV and VD and…"

"First time and I presume it was yours as well, you can't get anything from that."

"…and pregnancy…"

"I got into a bad fight with the entire football team and the doctors said I won't be able to have children."

"…and besides, we can't just pretend nothing happened."

"Actually, we can. We pretended all night long." Sally looked at him "See, there's nothing to worry about. We're safe from all the consequences of our reckless behavior."

"But…you can't just move on, as if it was nothing. Ok, I can, but…"

"I won't because of what, Ren? Because now, since I don't have a hymen, I'll be pointed and marked as useless and kicked out of all polite society? That's ancient! And besides, it was bound to happen sooner or later, so what difference does it make if I lose it, or give it, or whatever it's called, to you than if it happened with someone else?"

"But…aren't you sad? Traumatized?"

"God, you sound as if you want me to be."

"No, I don't! I'm glad you're ok with it." But he couldn't help wondering if he had, after all, shattered some dream of hers that her first time would be with someone who loved her and cared about her. "But after…well…."

"Saving myself?" she helped him

"Yes…that….for all those years, aren't you disappointed that it was so…"

"Lacking romance?"

"Lowly, actually."

"Are you sure you're worried about my virginity or yours?"

"Forget about that, I'm trying to find out if you're ok!"

"But I am ok, I already told you."

"Great, so…" he paused

"So….there's no reason for you to be sticking around me anymore." Sally finished for him

"I said I'll walk you home."

"I am home." She stepped inside the lodgings, and paused "Goodnight…and if it makes you feel better, I had fun."

* * *

The night was calm, the stars were bright, the moon floated in her snail-like speed through the sky, and the world had regained its usual equilibrium.

Or had it? Ren still had a hard time sleeping, and his mind kept going back to the conversation earlier, analyzing it, trying to discover what had been wrong.

There was, of course, the question why should he do that. Having the problem solved with surprisingly little inconvenience to himself, he was safe to go on his own way. But…maybe that was the thing, the situation was settled without him doing anything about it. Sally had assured him there was not problem and he was willing to believe her (why not, after all), and his consciousness was free to rest in peace.

She said it was ok, yes, and she believed it, but Ren knew that somewhere, deep inside, there must've been a part of her that regretted it, that felt sad. He wondered why she hadn't approached him somehow because of this-after all the girls from the Lilly 5 weren't that selfless. Could it be that she hated men? Or maybe she was a lesbian and didn't want to be reminded of this. The mere thought of what they've been doing just 24 hours ago rejected those theories instantly.

Perhaps she loved him and didn't want to be hurt with his pity. That seemed like a reasonable enough explanation, but it still dissatisfied him. Why?

Maybe it was pure chivalry, maybe it was guilt…"Maybe I love her" he thought and felt all color drain from his face. Could that be it? Could it be that her feelings for him were not as one-sided as he supposed them to be? Could it be that somewhere, somehow, he'd fallen in love with her and that all that's happened to them was actually a reverberation of their unconscious feelings for one another? He felt it was, and yet….and yet…

It was preposterous. Him, the great heir of the Tao clan, in love with some American chick, who had nothing but bad temper and heavy boots! Inconceivable! Ok, maybe there was more to her than it seemed, but such romance was doomed from the start. Their characters were incompatible. Their tastes would never be the same. His family would never approve of her, and he wasn't sure if she even knew her parents.

Or perhaps those were just excuses-silly prejudices that helped him hide from the truth. In the end, their feelings stayed and he couldn't feel worse about it. "But would it really be that horrible to embrace those feelings?" he asked himself. What had happened last night originated from drinking too much, animalistic urges and some rebellion against the rules set upon him since birth, but weren't some feelings needed for this to happen. He knew they did. So what now?

Go out, meet her, take her on a date. Suddenly, he felt himself filled with resolve to discover those feelings…and maybe rebel against the rules once again.


	4. Taking up the initiative

* * *

**Chapter four**

**Taking up the initiative**

Talking to her proved to be a hard task. Though it was a lot easier than fighting in the tournament, Ren preferred to go out against all of his previous opponents at once than to form small talk with Sally. But since fighting wasn't solving any of his problems, he found himself lingering on the rooftop of his lodgings, wondering how to go about it.

The Ly's didn't have a schedule, so it was impossible to predict where you could bump into one or all of them in the village. Sally didn't seem to care where they were going and if they didn't go out for lunch, she usually stayed in her room. Actually, when he came to think about it, the only member of that team that could be seen alone was Millie, when she came to look for Lyserg. The other girls stuck together, which only made his task a lot harder.

For the next couple of days, whenever he passed the street where their lodgings was (which was very often), he started making small mental notes. The Patch Mall, Anna's new favorite torture chamber for the guys, was supposed to be an excellent meeting spot, but even Ellie, who was a sworn mall rat didn't seem to show up. And they didn't set foot in Patch Café again.

It all led him to believe that either a/ Sally had told her friends and they had left the village, or b/ she was deliberately avoiding him. Ren found it hard to believe that Sharona could have one of her girls hurt like that without coming to confront him about it, but on the other hand Sally had said herself that they should act normally, not shun each-other. Either way, he couldn't 'accidentally' bump into her, so that brought him all the way back to square one.

He tried to think logically-the tournament had started all over again and the Ly's had come to participate once more, and none of them had sustained loss, so there was no reason for them to leave. Sharona hadn't come to yell at him so they didn't know either. He didn't see them anywhere in the centre so they were probably keeping to their house. If they didn't go out on a restaurant, then they probably cooked for themselves.

So very soon one of them had to go to buy groceries, and thankfully, the only supermarket was nearby, so Ren could keep an eye on him without causing suspicion.

* * *

Of course, his reason called, he could give it up or confront her directly, but he was aware he could do neither. The first was impossible because he wasn't going to just let it drop. The second-because if he showed up in the lodgings he wouldn't get out in one piece, and that was the optimistic outcome.

So he waited, and soon enough, his patience was well rewarded-he saw Sally head for the supermarket early on the morning of the third day. Ren got up, brushed his hair and ran out (casually), looking as if he had discovered there's no milk in the fridge.

As soon as he noticed her, his fears confirmed-she had been avoiding him (it was impossible to stare at a can of beans for so long a time without noticing him), and that she had been crying.

Of course, if he told her THAT she would definitely hit him, but there was something about her aura that gave out tensve ion and hostility. But she didn't move. She wanted him to take up the initiative.

"Hello." He said, trying to sound casual

"Hi." Indifferent tone, no eye contact…yeah, you could tell they were back to normal. He tried to help her with the shopping, but seeing he was still a bit shorter than her, reaching for the high shelves was pointless.

"So…" he began. "Um…how've you been…lately…"

Sally sighed, obviously a little irritated. "You don't believe me when I told you I can't have children?"

"No! No, I just wanted to talk to you….Why do you have to direct every conversation to that?" he asked grumpily. Sally let out a small smile.

"I don't see why else would you be so interested in me."

"Small talk…" he sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets "Are the girls waiting for you?"

"No." A cautious look "Why?"

"Let's go eat breakfast together…I'm buying." He shoved his hands in his pockets and led her out.

* * *

"You know, you really don't have to do this. I already told you I'm fine." Sally said while they sat on a small counter in a nearby ramen restaurant. The chairs were high and uncomfortable and they were facing the wall, but it was a lot more casual than taking a table and for some reason he felt much better when he was by her side, with no obstacles between them.

"I know, but there's no need to refuse a free meal." Even though he hated Japanese food, Ren sipped his soba noodles and looked at her "Besides, I'm doing this because I want to, not because I'm obliged to."

"Talk is cheap." She took the chopsticks anyway "So…what's this all about? You're not the kind of guy that would ask a random stranger on a meal."

Ren ate in silence for a while, using the food as an excuse to think. Truth was that he had thought about only one half of this. He wasn't sure how to go about it, but to call something a date both people had to be aware of it.

"We're not completely strangers." He stated.

"I though we agreed not to talk about that…" Sally began

"I'm not talking about it. I mean…we did fight…a little…and you guys did save us once."

"Oh?" Sally frowned, remembering the church scene "It would be nice if you didn't mention that either."

"Why?"

"Cause…well, cause you repaid us…Yoh-kun saved us from Hao…it's no big deal."

"It happened though." He interacted "So we're not strangers. Now eat."

Sally mumbled something under her nose and dug in. Ren chewed some more, then set down his sashi and looked at her.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to discuss with you…well, actually, ask a favor of you."

"Shoot." She swallowed "What is it?"

"Well…I need you to…teach me…about something…human relations…" he breathed "I want to learn more about people and I want to achieve this through talking to you…I need you to explain me some things I can't understand….about places and habits and…"

"In other words, you want to learn about people by dating me?" she summarized

"Well…if you want it to fit a nutshell, that's as simple as it can be put." He nodded

"Why?"

He sighed. There came the hard part.

"I was raised in a very specific society. I was made to believe that only my family mattered and that normal humans did not deserve to live. I had to crush all to reach my ultimate goal, the Shaman king crown."

"But you doubt it now."

"Yes." He confirmed "In truth, I know it's a wrong belief, but it's all I have." He sighed "Yoh is getting along with others so easily that I envy him sometimes…and more. Actually…what happened…" he paused, looking at her, trying to read her reaction. Her face was still impassive, but she was leaning forward, obviously interested. "I've been told that friends are useless…that love was a distraction…"

"So you wanted to prove them wrong." She nodded

"And you see that's the problem." He exclaimed "I've realized that my inability to deal with people is becoming dangerous to others…and to myself…" she was still listening, but there was puzzlement in her eyes.

"I'm following so far…" she stated "But what's it got to do with me? Why are you asking me of all people?"

"Sally, please let's not play this game." He sighed "What we did…we can forget it, but it's already changed us for good. I think you're the best person to help me."

Sally stared ahead of her, as if considering the possibilities. Then she began slowly.

"You do realize that sooner or later we'll have to talk about things we don't want to." She looked at him, as if to make sure he was getting it "We won't be able to pretend much."

"I know." He said "But maybe, in time, until we get to that part, we'd have grown comfortable with it. We won't mention what happened and maybe we can act as if it never did…until we're able to….consider it on a sober head."

"Maybe." She acknowledged "But I'm not good with teaching…"

"I think I can judge for myself." He smiled slightly "So, do you want to?"

She sighed.

"I'm guessing we should keep this a secret, yes?"

Ren sighed. "My friends won't let me hear the end of it if I told them, but you're not forced to keep quiet."

"Whatever." She snorted "As if they'd be interested."

* * *


	5. Taking my breath away

* * *

**Chapter five**

**Taking my breath away**

Sally sat on the grass near the lake with her legs folded under her, supporting herself with her hands and looking up at the sky with a small frown on her face. Ren sat close to her, observing her attentively while desperately trying to figure out something to say that wouldn't make him look stupid.

Ok, so maybe asking her out under the pretext of helping him improve his social skills wasn't the best idea-they were sitting in the park near Patch and they did nothing but stare in random directions and say nothing.

"Socializing…What is socializing?" She said abruptly "Probably the best definition of that word is…"

"Hold it…" he cut her off "Why are you talking like a teacher?"

"I thought you wanted me to teach you?" she stared at him.

"Did you perhaps merge with the ghost of a tutor?" he asked suspiciously

"Nah." She laughed "Those guys are downright perverts."

Ren stared. "Really?"

"Yeah. I tried that on tests, but all they did was say 'Hey, baby, if I tell you the answers will you make an old guy happy by…" she trailed off, a sly look shining in her eyes while she leaned back and popped her head in the tone of some music she was hearing. Ren looked at her in earnest interest.

"So?" his curiosity urged him to ask.

"What?"

"What about the ghosts?"

"I gave up that method. Too bothersome." She shrugged "I got tired of invitations to please them by making out with that busty blond in the corner, or taking a stroll to the nearest strip club, or asking the guys from the basketball team if they were up for a threesome with the whole cheerleading team while I take pictures, or…"

"Oh…" Ren blinked "I didn't know there was only one cheerleader in a team."

"Well, no, but I couldn't put the numbers together to make out the count."

"Oh." It seemed that that exclamation was becoming his favorite "So…er…"

"Why did you think I sounded like a teacher?" she asked suddenly

"Well…" Ren, at first happy for the change of topic, suddenly found he was jumping from one thorny bush into another "You…don't usually use big words."

"Oh?" It was her turn to stare "Yeah…I guess you're right." She laughed again…a husky, deep laugh that reminded him of a certain pair of black panties and made him sink deep into the grass. Thankfully, Sally was staring at some birds, so she didn't notice the faint pink hue that spilled on his cheeks. Damn it!

* * *

Somehow, he was hoping that a date with her could help him grow comfortable with those feelings. After all, Sally wasn't perfect. Actually, her list of flows could fill a two-volume 'War and Peace' sized tomes, at least to Ren's criteria. He told himself that all the time, yet it didn't matter, damn it! He just had to look at her to lose all his marbles! In a smoking disco, in the morning haze, in the broad daylight, with her barbaric red hair and crazy smile, Sally was still breathtaking.

"This is insane." He thought as she got up and walked to the lake, then looked around, took her boots off, went in the water and tried to catch a fish with her bare hands. "A romance like this is doomed from the start!" It wasn't even like those cheesy novels Jun had under her bed, which she read all the time. They weren't separated by the storms of a family trial or the electric, stinging war of superiority complexes, but by a whole era of social and cultural differences. He was the heir of a family whose history began in the cradle of one of the oldest and most powerful nations in the world. She was…a stray cat.

Yes…a stray cat seemed the perfect description. Now that he looked at her carefully, she did have something feline-ish in her…But…not like a cat. More like a mighty, powerful tigress that fought no matter what and never backed on a challenge. Pity the stupid mammal that decided to pick on a tigress, especially if she had littles-she was going to make him wish he was never born. Or was that about lionesses?

Either way, here he was, watching her amateur fishing, and wondering where this could go. Could it possibly be that they were destined for each other? He had heard older men in the cafes discuss their previous girlfriends and he couldn't believe his ears. They talked about the women's problems, every time they had whined about the cat going missing or having a painful period, they actually discussed and compared them in bed and RATED them as if they were some sort of….game. A play station game you play until you get bored. Was it just his lack of social skills or was there really something wrong with the world?

He couldn't see himself like a playboy bachelor, picking up girls for one night stands and then dumping them in the morning with some lame excuse like "I don't like fat women." Or "You remind me of my mother too much…actually, grand-mother." Jesus Christ, something like this could scar a girl for life.

And yet where could a relationship possibly take them? He tried imagining the two of them being a regular couple. Going on dates, getting engaged, introducing her to the family…His father would hate her on site! Even Jun would have a hard time saying something nice, and what about Sally? She was playing along with his improvement of social skills idea as if she didn't see he was trying to get to know her better (she was important to him after all).

Or maybe she just didn't see through his excuses and it didn't matter to her. Honestly said, was Sally the kind of girl that dreams of marriage and children and serious relationships?

Then why? A part of his mind piped out, a part that drew him to her, the part which he couldn't comprehend. Why? A very simple, yet complicated question. Why did girls always go to the toilet in groups? Why did the chicken cross the road? Why the hell was Sally a virgin when she spoke about threesomes or whatever -somes there was without even blinking?

He shook his head-it was ridiculous. All of it was ridiculous! He was looking too far into the future because of a simple mistake! He was too whined-up, damn it! It was ridiculous to torture oneself with such archaic and old prejudices! He was forgetting there is a line between the two faces of the coin, the line on which the coin spun when you played 'heads or tails' to determine the winner.

It may not work out, but why the hell shouldn't he get to know her better?

After all, even when Sally caught the fish bare handed and walked out of the water, grinning triumphantly, even when the fish slipped out and slapped her on the face before swimming back to the calm depths, even when she rose soaking wet from the lake cussing like hell….even so, she still took his breath away.

* * *

A/N-Compliments to my beta-reader, TheArchon, for his help and support through this chapter. No, really, thank him it came out at all.

Entonces, chicos y chicas, que piensen? Bueno o malo? Espero vuestros respasos muy imapaciamente.


	6. Learning about each other

* * *

**Chapter six**

**Learning about each other**

"Can't you sit?" she asked

"I am sitting."

"I mean sit normally. You look like a statue." Sally stretched her hands back and crossed her legs Turkish style, letting out a content grin when Ren settled himself more comfortably next to her "See, it ain't that hard."

"You make it sound as if it's hard." He rolled his eyes

"You make it look as if it's hard." She retorted calmly "Relax. We're so deep in the woods the chances of us meeting a polar bear are better than having your friends discover us."

"Like I care."

"Of course you do. You said so yourself."

"Don't put words in my mouth, please. I said that if they see us, they're never going to let me hear the end of it."

"Same thing."

He snorted, but the look in his eyes was warm, happy. She was stubborn sometimes, seeing things she wanted to see…but then again, aren't we all. Their 'dates', or lessons, as he called them, were going on for three weeks now, and he discovered that, despite the cultural difference between them, they could really make an interesting conversation. Actually, their difference seemed to make the whole talk so interesting.

Sally, per instance, had never been close to an opera house, so she couldn't possibly understand Ren's liking it, but at least she was not effected by the common presumption that it was a pansy hobby, made only for people that were spoiled rotten or rolling in cash. Like many other things, she had just ignored its existence, but still listened to him when he tried to explain.

"Interesting…" she stated when he finished telling her the plot of _La Traviata_ by Verdi. "It's almost like a fairy tale."

"Not exactly, but there are others." So he told her about them, told her all about those which he had seen, and whose programs he still kept somewhere, his little pleasures before he met his friends. Ren noticed, that after he had begun, Sally would roll on her stomach and lean her head on one arm, close her eyes and listen to it as if it was some bedtime story. Surprisingly enough, he liked that expression on her face.

She told him about her life before the tournament. How she often ended up in detention because of one or another practical joke she pulled on the teachers, or because she got into fights with the local bullies.

"You won't believe how sensitive people are to shamans. The second one comes around, they just know it, they call you a freak and even bullies stay away from you. Well…they don't mind beating you up because the teachers turn their backs on you."

"That's preposterous!" Ren couldn't control himself when she was telling him one of those stories "I mean, even if there are guys that pick on you, shouldn't teachers restore order?"

"Where have you grown up in? A plastic bubble?" Sally sighed "Oh, right, I forgot. Teachers in private schools are more…motivated to work hard. If a child is abused or mistreated, the parents would take him away and there goes one fee less. Sure, it's no big deal, but if a whole class changes schools, then it's not good for anyone, so they teach and are careful. Public schools, especially those in big cities, aren't the same. The teachers don't give a damn, because they're paid so badly. There are 'graduates' there who can't spell their name right. Who'd care if a girl got into a fight with a bunch of guys? Especially if the girl's a freak."

There was sadness in her voice as she said that, the same sadness that drifted around all the Ly's-well hidden behind over-confident smirks and boasting words, but drifting around them….Like the faint smell of rain after a storm, or yesterday's perfume that's left on the pillow. It was there, but you didn't notice it until you looked.

Ren sighed.

"So it really was like my old man said…humans are rotten."

"Not all of them." Sally titled her head on the side "There are some who make really good friends. But I can't tell you a lot of good things, seeing as I only knew the bad sides of humans."

"I just don't understand." Ren shook his head "It seems…unreal."

"I imagine it does." Shrug "I mean, you don't know humans at all."

"Is that so bad?"

"Nah." She let a small smile "It's better."

* * *

They were careful, of course. When they talked, they danced round the boarders, careful not to cross it with some ill-timed questions. It was easy to know which subjects were nice for both of them, and which were better left undisturbed. Ren didn't really want to talk about what happened that night, or anything that made him look weak….well, too weak. Sally avoided the subject of her family, treating it with almost the same indifference as anything else.

But still, they managed to get along just fine. He talked, she talked, they discussed. Opera actually began to feel appealing to her, but he couldn't help getting angry whenever she spoke of fights with people ten times her size.

Slowly, the general themes wore off and he realized that he craved to know more about her. From Jun's books (the only discreet source of information for him) he knew girls were supposed to have favorite colors, music, places, etc, but asking Sally about it was a whole different thing. It felt almost…dangerous.

And it wasn't just flowers and colors. He wanted to know her, really know her, past, plans, to know what was special about her….the last one was his biggest problem, seeing that she was more indifferent to things than most people are. But once he thought he had the question worked out, he found himself in enchanted waters. Sally, obviously sensing he was about to ask her something very personal, stared at him straight in the eye, and that freaked the living daylights out of him.

Great.

He had no choice but to make the first step (oh-so-embarrassing step), and talk about his past first. Well, actually, there wasn't much to talk about, seeing that she had a general picture of it, but he guessed that since he told her so much, she would think it only fair to share something as well. So he told her how he didn't get along with his father, right to the end when he accepted him for who he was and his new choice of destiny.

Sally listened, eyes cast on the leafs of the trees (yes, the forests turned out to be the best places for dates), and when he went silent, anticipating silent, she looked at him and said:

"What do you want to know?" he stared at her blankly "Well?"

"You…er…are you a telepath?"

"No." she shook her head "But with Sharona, you become one. She always says stuff you have to guess the meaning of."

"Oh…I see."

"So? You want to ask me something?" they were coming out of the forest and heading to sit in a small restaurant nearby. It was early for dinner, so there weren't many guests, and the corner of the counter seemed like the perfect place for a quiet, uninterrupted conversation.

"Well…" the barman left their food and headed off to watch the football game "I was just curious…When we…er…first talked…really first talked." He avoided her gaze "Well, when I picked up the subject of…well...the…"

"Consequences of our actions?" she suggested.

"Yeah…You said you couldn't get pregnant because of a fight with the football team."

"So?"

"I was just curious…you speak of fights as something casual…but this particular fight made you….?"

"I see." She spared him the mad blushing, then picked up her chopsticks and ate thoughtfully "Maybe it wasn't that one in particular…but that time it was a major scandal. The guys were really pissed up because they lost a match and clearly needed someone to restore their measly self-confidence." She didn't have to go into detail, he guessed how that 'restoration' would happen "Anyway, they called me names, I send them to hell, in the end, they decided to use me as a football."

"Then?" he looked at her in earnest interest

"Well, they left me lying in the middle of the school yard, and I wasn't found until next morning. Usually I got on my feet and left, but it really hurt that time, and I couldn't move." She picked her words carefully "The teachers couldn't have me lying around there and called an ambulance, and the doctors in the hospital said that since immediate action hadn't been undertaken…well…you can guess." She sighed

"Doesn't it….hurt you sometimes? Isn't there anything that you could do?"

"If I had the money I could go to a real hospital." She shrugged "But I don't. So I live with it. Just like with everything else."

* * *


	7. Children and parents

* * *

**Chapter seven**

**Children and parents**

"Your mother must be remarkable." Sally said one day, when a storm caught them in the middle of their wandering in the woods of Patch. The huge tree under which they were hiding was spreading its long branches way over their heads, crossing them and twisting them to create a green roof over their heads, keeping them dry. They were listening to the rhythmic sound of raindrops, and she seemed more preoccupied staring at the grass than at him.

Ren took off his jacket and threw it on the ground, then sat down and patted it to make her sit down. While she did so, he stated:

"Yes, she is quite beautiful. She's the kind of woman that could stop traffic-tall and slender, but very delicate. People say I look like her."

Sally nodded. "It must be nice…having a mom I mean. She must be very brave, too. You said she stood up to your father when you two fought."

"Yeah…" Ren sighed, remembering that particular moment, the rush of adrenalin and the sudden cut of it, the rush change from wartime hostility to an almost peaceful family scene, and then another emotion hit him, a sudden, unexpected emotion, filled with a whole new meaning to him.

Truth was, he never had been very close to his mother. His life was centered around shamanism and warfare, totally masculine occupations. His sister was preoccupied with raising armies of dead, and later with Payron, and as far as he knew, his mother spend most of her time playing Mah Jong with his grandfather, or read in her room. He really didn't know her so well. But the fact that she was so quiet and obedient was normal-wives in families as the Taos followed the old rules-they gave birth to children and stayed out of the way.

So far, he hadn't really gave it a thought, but now…when Sally picked up the subject…Well, it shouldn't bother him, really, that's how things were…that was their culture, their way of life…Independent American women seemed utterly impossible…yet he couldn't not wonder…If she felt lonely, all that time.

"Yes…" he finally said "She is very brave."

Ren was about to ask Sally about her mom, but suddenly it didn't feel like a good idea. Sure, he wasn't an example of the perfect son, but what woman would let her daughter wonder alone at night, and not bother if she didn't come back at all.

"My mom died…" Sally said, reading his thoughts again.

"How did you guess I was…" he stared at her

"I thought you were the telepath."

"It's way easier when it's men. Women have…such complicated thoughts…" he sighed "It's way different than anything I've imagined."

"So you can't hear…any of my thoughts?" she looked at him expecting

"Well…I do hear something when I try to. But it's buzzy and unclear. Like a broken radio. I can't make out any of it. If I…knew you better…I may be able to read you…but I can't now."

"It's the same with me….almost…but I guess most of it." She shrugged "That's how us lowly mortals get along. We guess."

"I'm sorry." He stared at her "It must be tough."

"Nah, I've grown used to it. It's no biggie."

"Actually, I meant…about your mom. I'm sorry." He sweat-dropped

"Why?" she stared at him. A small irritated quirk popped on his forehead

"Because…" he was really trying to be patient "With a dead parent…it must've been really hard for you to grow up."

"No biggie." She said it as if he had just apologized for spilling juice on her t-shirt "It's been going on for more than 10 years now…and it's not like I didn't see it coming."

Ren looked at her expecting, somehow mustering the patience to wait for her to go on. Sally listened to the rain drops, tapping her foot in their rhythm, then said:

"Ask me something."

"What?" he blinked

"How can you expect me to tell you a story if I don't know from where to start? Ask me a question."

Ren nodded. "Yes, of course." As if it was perfectly logical. "Um….was your mother very pretty?"

"She must've been. I remember she was energetic, but being a housewife seemed to drain her up." Sally picked up a pebble and started fooling around with it. "My dad used to be a cop, you see, one of those catholic puritan type that believed women were meant for the kitchen, and she must've really loved him, because she did everything he said. I guess he was pretty disappointed that I wasn't a boy." She laughed bitterly "Though there must've been good moments there, I don't recall them well. Must be because bad memories stand out and outshine the happy ones. I never really gave it a thought."

"Anyway…" she went on "My dad really liked his job. He used to say that he had been granted this opportunity to make the world a better place for the following generations, which was good, I suppose. But he wasn't just devoted to his profession, he was practically married to it. Whenever my mom wanted to approach him about his constant absences, he pulled that speech about how little were the last warriors of good in this world and that he, a simple servant of justice, had to give his all to help them. And of course, our duty was to support him."

"She put up with it for a long time…I don't really know how many years anymore. The lonely nights came more and more often, and she really missed him. At some point, she wondered if he had gotten himself killed and if his body lay somewhere, unrecognizable and rotting in a silent grave…but he always came back to tell her how silly these thoughts were. You couldn't blame her, she really cared. But then she began to grow suspicious and scorned, so she dealt with it the way normal people do-she reached for the bottle…now that I think about it, one could hardly blame her…but I still think she dug her own grave like that."

A leaf fell from the tree and Sally caught it. For a second, she admired the diamond-like rain drops that covered it, then twined it in her fingers like old story tellers used to spin wool on the wheel while they told their people's legends to the younger ones…just in that case, it wasn't a tale with a point, or a myth…it was just a simple girl's story of a simple family.

"She grew sick, and I ended up looking after her. By that time, my dad had gotten himself a mistress, and with my mom constantly passed out or in bed, he had no trouble being absent to see her. I don't know for how long it had been going on-I just discovered them accidentally one day." Ren looked at her, struck to the core that she could speak of adultery and such unhappiness so…calmly. But he refrained from saying his opinion-he wanted her to finish.

"Anyway, my mom got worse and worse. Sometimes she was so out of it she stood still like a statue for days and didn't say a word. Sometimes, she dropped into hysterics and then threw things around the room. Sometimes she was terribly aware of reality, and those were the worst ones…she never stopped crying. My dad tried divorcing her a few times, but the doctors said she was mad-he was morally responsible for her. I guess her death came as a relief to him."

Another bitter laugh. The rain continued to pour down.

* * *

"And then what happened?" Ren heard himself asking and mentally cursed-he sounded like Bronte's Jane Eyre like that. But Sally didn't seem to notice. She just smiled condescendingly, as if he was a child that didn't quite understand. In a way, that was just the case.

"Well, then naturally he immediately re-married. It was around that time when my shaman powers began to show up. At first I thought I was going crazy, but I heard my mother's screaming every night. Once, it got so loud I couldn't sleep and headed towards her bedroom, by habit, to check if she wanted something. And then I saw them…my dad and that other woman…I guess they were too busy screwing their brains out to notice me, which was a good thing. I really got mad…though I don't know why. Maybe it was because everybody acted so…hypocritical around me, treating me like a child even though I wasn't. That's when I accidentally learned spirit control, and forced my mom's ghost into the other woman's body…"

Sally smirked, clearly amused at the thought.

"It was fun…seeing her snap up and scream and toss around…but my furioku wasn't enough to keep the medium for too long and it quickly dissolved. Afterwards, I often tried that on her, all the while pulling other pranks and practical jokes on her, just to piss her off. I guess that's a normal stepdaughter's behavior, but I took it a little farther than the usual."

"But something changed, didn't it?" Ren asked

"Of course it did. My dad's not dumb-though he couldn't understand how-he just knew that I was behind these sudden fits and weird occurrences…so he sent me to a boarding school, where I met Sharona and the others. It was fun running away from there after the first year." She giggled

"And he hasn't come to look for you? I mean…shouldn't he be worried that you went missing?"

"Nah. He's running for mayor now…tells everyone his lovely daughter is studying faithfully abroad and doesn't want to get in the way…maybe in some years he'll hire an actress to pose as me…I don't really care."

* * *

Ren fell silent for a while, and she watched him, a silent question in her eyes.

"Don't you miss it, sometimes?" he asked "Haven't you thought of coming back again?"

"I did, once. To tell the truth, the town he sent me was only a few miles away, I could go back anytime I wanted. But when I did, nothing changed. I saw spirits, sadness, people turned away from me like a runaway freak from a circus…I've had people I'd called 'uncle' when I was little arrest me for disrupting order, my dad would've probably never recognized me, and I…" she shrugged "There was just no point of going back."

"You should've exposed him for the phony he is."

"Yeah, right." Sally laughed "And who'd the people believe? The honorable ex-cop or the crazy woman pretending to be his daughter? Please, Ren, people don't work that way. And anyway, what would blackmailing him prove? It won't make up for past mistakes, nor pacify my mother's scorned spirit, and I most definitely don't want anyone's pity-money."

Sally sighed and rested back on the tree, with her hands folded behind her neck.

"Did I make things clearer for you now, Ren?" she looked at him "Do you understand now why I'm so fucked up?"

He was silent, but as people know, silence can tell volumes.

"I just don't see a point…" she explained "To get all worked up for something so trivial. People treat sex as if it's the biggest taboo or sin that'll send you to hell while it's just a body function like breathing…and if people like my dad can screw around with no consideration of the time and place then…it can't be that important. That's all."

Ren, involuntarily, turned to look at her, and for a moment stayed perfectly still. She had closed her eyes, her bright red bangs tickling her cheeks, and he hardly restrained himself from reaching out and stroking them. They looked so delicate, so soft…and then, without warning, that memory came up again. His hands balled into tight fists, his nails digging deep into his flesh. How could've he been so crude, so unrefined, so…boorish?! He was telling himself that their relationship could never be because she couldn't possibly understand his refined world, while he molested her like a common tramp.

"Yeah…I guess you've got a point." He acknowledged sadly.

Who the hell he was fooling-they were just the same. They were made out of the same stuff, they liked the same things even though they could hardly comprehend their full meaning sometimes, and they acted the same in any situation. What was that thing Poe said about the graveyards? The Great Equalizer? Rich, poor, nobles, peasants, all ended up there and they all rotted to the same dust.

Who the hell was he to judge her, to say how things were supposed to be? How could he possibly have thought that reality would adjust to his wishes and ideas of right? For when Ren came back at the lodgings after that long, rainy afternoon and crashed in his bed, too tired even to change his soaking clothes, when he faced his reflection in the mirror and failed to reason, he realized that he was inevitably and irreversibly falling in love with her.

* * *

A/N-Once again, big thanks to my beta for this chapter.

Pls review?


	8. Lovesick fools

* * *

**Chapter eight**

**Lovesick fools**

"Are you wearing space pants?" Horo asked Lilly, one sunny day in the middle of Patch market place.

"Because your ass is out of this world." The snowflake answered when the brainy girl tried to ignore him and go on her way. "Come on! It was way better than one of Chocolove's jokes, admit it."

"Humph…if you had even half a pigeon's brain in that spiky head of yours, you'd have noticed I'm not even wearing pants." Lilly stated, shaking her hips to indicate the presence of the ever persistent schoolgirl skirt.

"Are you not wearing panties either?" he asked, while trying to take a peak under.

* * *

Ren sighed when Lilly screamed on top of her lungs with anger than smashed the bag full of groceries on top of the boy's head, before storming away from the market as fast as her pretty stocking-clad legs allowed. He should've seen it coming, the blasted idiot!

"She hit him, didn't she?" Sally asked behind him. The day after the storm was sunny and warm, so Sally, who was suffering from a very painful period (see, I told you I couldn't get pregnant, idiot), took advantage of the soothing sun, and Ren, being the lovesick masochist he was, kept her company.

"Cretin." The Tao sighed and slipped back on the rug that was spread on the roof. "I swear, he's acting like a foolish teenager."

"Nah, that's their usual behavior." Sally narrowed her eyes against the bright sun "You've just grown up prematurely."

Ren refrained from answering and looked at her relaxed form. Sometimes, she would stir and ball into a fetal position, sometimes she would put a hand on her stomach and sigh in irritation. He was glad she kept her eyes closed most of the time-that way he could contemplate her features without being disturbed.

She really was something. Sure, not drop-dead-gorgeous like Ellie, or the type of natural beauty like Jun who fell out of bed that pretty, but she sure as hell wasn't someone you'd notice only drunk and in a dark room. Sharp features looked attractive when her face was relaxed, and he realized he really, REALLY liked the color of her eyes. They weren't black, like one would think at first, but a kind of deep, smoked green, the sort that stood out in the right light. That color could give onyxes and emeralds a good run for their money…at least to his modest opinion. And her body was remarkably well built for a person that didn't work out.

"So, now what will happen?" he asked

"Well, she'll probably tell everyone what a pig this guy is, and then Sharona and Ellie will torture him mercilessly while Lilly pretend she doesn't notice him…and that will basically go on until he begs for forgiveness or she softens up to him. I'd recommend he sends her some flowers and apologize."

"You think they'll make it that hard on him?" Ren looked at her skeptically. Sally looked back, her eyebrow quirked quizzically.

"Do you doubt it?"

* * *

One week later, after getting buckets of water dumped on him by mistake, walked though the market with a pair of girlie panties sticking out of his pocket, got caught looking at a chick magazine and accidentally ate a hot pepper, Horo was beginning to think he had died and had been send to Hell's special circle of misfortunes, meant especially for hormonal teens like him. Ren watched his misfortunes, not knowing whether to laugh or thank Buddha Sharona didn't find out about him and Sally. Of course he pitied the guy-it was hard to like a girl and have no brain, after all-but that part of him was really, really small, smaller than he would acknowledge.

Still, he did ask Sally if Lilly was feeling condescending so that she could stop this humiliating torture of his team mate. They were in the forest today, resting on a clearing. She was lying back, letting her skin drink the warm rays of the sun, and Ren, sweat soaked from practice, had just dropped on the ground.

"I told you it wouldn't end until he begs." She shrugged, her eyes following a drop of sweat that was making its way down his neck. Ren groaned angrily.

"Honestly, he's going to be the death of me." He said "I mean, I still need the idiot so that I could get to the next round, and he's so stressed out he won't sleep at night."

"So?" she raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"So he paces around and eats. I've never seen so many god damn bread crumbs in my life!" Ren groaned and hit his head on the grassy clearing. "This has got to stop. Lilly's driving him insane."

"Can you blame her?" Sally asked.

"No." Ren answered honestly "So…what now?"

"He apologizes. Send flowers. Bow his head. Write a letter if he's too afraid to face her." She eyed him "He can write, can he."

"Not that I know of."

Both stayed silent for a while. Sally watched Ren, Ren tried to imagine Sally, laying down, probably chewing on a piece of grass, looking totally calm and relaxed. He turned his head to look at her and sighed:

"Do you think we could send a letter from him to her? To apologize?"

"What good would it be apologizing for him? He has to mean it. Besides, Sharona could tell if we faked it."

"You sure?"

"Well…" Sally looked a bit embarrassed "If her guardian ghost managed to trash a plain…" she let it hang in the air for a moment "You know, she is really sorry for doing that."

"What?" Ren looked surprised "Don't worry. It's not a big deal, I have 32 more at home."

"Lilly saw you were pretty pissed when it happened." She seemed wary. Ren laughed.

"It's ok. Honestly, I forgot about that already."

Sally scooted up and sat next to him, looking straight forward.

"There is a beautiful scenery here, isn't it?"

Indeed, it was. The sunlight was piercing the trees perfectly, sending specks or golden dust and emerald green all over the clearing. The grass was soft and luscious under them, and it smelled of rain and summer. Gentle wind blew from time to time, encouraging them to take in the lovely scent and bask half-asleep in it while the heat of noon drained off, leaving the entire world with a pleasant coolness. However, Ren only had eyes for the girl next to him and wondered about how perfectly she fit in the picture, so natural and free as the nature around her.

Yes, she was beautiful, he thought, perhaps too beautiful to be true. Their proximity allowed him to breathe in her scent without intimidating her, and he marveled the way it mixed with his own, the way their body warmth seemed to mingle and draw them to each other, the way her skin reminded him of polished wood and how he craved to run his fingers on it just to enjoy the velvety feel.

He wondered what could happen if they were somehow drawn apart? What if he lost and was forced to return to his family in China? What if he died in a fight? What if she had to go? What would he do? Without their meetings, without talking to her, without using lousy excuses to be around her…what would become of him? She was like a drug-intoxicating, addicting, drawing him to her as if she was a singing siren and he was a poor sailor that ended up in enchanted waters. Gods, he was doomed!

All of the sudden, he felt mad. Unimaginatively, irrevocably and impossibly mad. Honor bound him from telling Sally how he felt for her (What right did he have to impose his feelings on her?), but Horo had nothing to stop him from being honest and open with Lilly. Life was too short to be wasted on stupid puberty quarrels!

"I have to go." He announced suddenly as he got up. Sally smiled at him while he was going away, and Ren felt a pang into his heart.

* * *

He found the snowflake cowering under the bed, holding a pillow to his ears…Gods, he looked like a sick puppy. Ren snorted, before reaching down and dragging him out by the collar.

"What the hell do you think you're going!" Horo screamed and tried to crawl back

"Stop being an idiot, you're coming with me."

"Where?" he looked suspicious.

"To the Ly's. You're going to apologize, right…now!" Ren tugged him off the bed and snarled "Look at you, you're a mess!"

"Yeah, and I think I know who to thank." Horo said, crossing his arms stubbornly "I'm not going out there!"

"Yes, you are!"

"Are you blind!" Horo exclaimed "You've seen what happened that week! I'm going to die!"

"No, you're not, idiot."

"Yeah? How so?"

"Because…" Ren sighed "Look, do you like her?"

"Yeah…"

"I mean do you really like her? Do you want to be with her? And I'm serious here." Ren seemed content when he nodded sheepishly. "Then go to her. Damn it, you're luckier than most man to have somebody you like that much! Don't waste your goddamn time, tell her how you feel and be honest about it!"

Horo seemed reluctant, but after a few more minutes of that same speech, he nodded and, puffed up, headed towards the door. Suddenly, Ren's hand shot out and grabbed him by the collar, choking him and making him stop immediately.

"What'd you do that for?" the white-haired shaman complained.

"Go make yourself presentable, you dolt! And get her some flowers!" Ren shouted and stormed out of the room.

* * *

Saying that Lilly was reluctant to go out and talk to Horo was like saying that Ryo liked his hair-true, but not illustrating the full extent of the situation. The brainy girl was so pissed she asked Millie to shoot at Horo with Onibi to make him go away. Thankfully, the little girl liked to be a pacifist, especially when thing came down to Lyserg-sama's friends, so after a long and tiresome begging session (it was like the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, only the Romeo was begging the Juliet not to kill him and listen), Lilly finally condescended to come out and hear out his apologies."

"So? I'm listening." She said quietly. Not because she was pissed, mind, but her voice had become horst from all the screaming she'd done that past week.

"I…er…am sorry, ok. I didn't mean to piss you off like that!" Horo was feeling his tongue swelling, and he tried desperately to regain his composure. "But it's…kinda your fault."

"MY FAULT!" Ok, so maybe she did have enough voice left in her to scream "How the hell is my behaviour connected to your total lack of sensitivity, you selfish, good-for-nothing chauvinist male porker?!"

"Look, it's not like that! What am I supposed to do if you're so hot?!" he exclaimed.

To his horror, tears started to form in her eyes.

"Why don't you find yourself another idiot and stop torturing me, you…" she turned to go back in the house, but he grabbed her wrist and held her down.

"Lilly, please listen to me…" he begged "I really mean to apologize."

"Then do it!"

"I'm trying to!"

"Oh, drop the act." She tried to yank off, but Horo held her with surprising strength "Why the hell would you want to be with someone as plain as me?"

Horo took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. Normally, he'd be scared shitless to do that with a girl, but the thought that Ren would turn him into a Chinese mean bun if he cowered back now was motivating enough for him to stand his ground. And talking about his self-proclaimed leader…

"Because…" he remembered what Ren had told him and shot out "Because…if the world ended tomorrow….my biggest regret would be that I never came to be with you."

The words had effect. Lilly was totally struck. Then, her voice was teary, but soft, as she said:

"Idiot…don't joke around like that."

"Hey, it was no joke, I totally swear that…mph.." Horo forgot everything when Lilly came to him and kissed him…or did he kiss her…anyway, he was totally awestruck by the way his heart began racing in his chest, this time from the happy excitement that she gave him, and kissed her back. Somewhere, in the corner of his mind, he made a small, very small mental not to thank Ren…if he remembered to, that is. You couldn't blame him for being distracted now.

His leader watched from a nearby rooftop, shaking his head and muttering "Lovesick fools" quietly, but smiling on the inside, as he watched Sally and the rest of the Ly's pile up on a nearby window and stare at the happy little scene that passed on the street.

For a split second, he caught his favorite red-head's eye and felt a warm wave tickle down his body, and then their gazes broke apart, staring embarrassingly away.

* * *

**A/N**-Once again, lots of 'thank you's for my beta, TheArchon, who was brave enough to put up with me even while he needs rest. Be dears and check out his fics about the Lilly 5, won't you? The fics I write are good, but I personally think his a lot better than mine.


	9. Rush

* * *

**Chapter nine**

**Rush**

"So, no more crumbs in bed?" Sally asked

"None. Good riddens." He sighed "Though now I'm not sure if we'll ever be able to break them apart now."

"What? Is he bringing her over and won't let you sleep?" She grinned evilly

"No. But he seems to think that locking each other in the bathroom so that he could grope her undisturbed is some sort of accomplishment."

"Well, at least you can sleep now."

"I'm just a little confused-he was wiping around for days after she it him and all it took for him to recover were her breasts! Jeez, he's immature!" Ren snorted "If I were…"

He slapped his mouth shut and looked away guiltily. Sally just cocked her eyebrow.

"Are you ok, Ren?" she blinked "Sorry, I didn't get that last one…"

"Nothing…I…err…I just think he's…err…not treating her as he should."

"Oh?"

"I mean…he should treat her with respect, not like she's some…piece of meat."

"Oh well…" Sally smiled "Some girls like it that way-rough."

"Girls like…you?" the words left his mouth without any consultancy with the brain. _'Ren, my friend…"_ his reason said _'That was definitely something.'_

_'Shut up! If you weren't always so damn late to show up, this wouldn't have happened.'_

_'You're the one who screwed up here, buddy, not me.'_

_'DON'T. YOU. DARE. MENTION. THE. WORD. SCREW!"_

For his great relief and surprise, Sally just nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, girls like me."

Safe by a thread….Ren breathed. Only mere weeks ago he would have never even contemplated such a situation-sitting with a girl in an empty park, talking about their friends who they have recently matched up together. Especially if those friends were Horo Horo and Lilly….especially if the girl was Sally.

Yet here he was, head over heels in love by the way, and wondering how could have he missed her before. Sure, she didn't stand out in crowds…and her favorite movie was American Psycho…but still…she did have that something that set his heart beat on fire and knocked the air out of his lungs…

Well, that could be attributed to the fact that Sally had just kicked a nearby tree in an attempt to show him some scene she had liked in a karate movie. Of course, it wasn't the fact that the tree shook by its foundations that caught his eye, but something else…and then he said, again without thinking much:

"What kind of posture is that?"

Sally stared at him, clueless.

"I mean…." He went on as he approached her "It's totally wrong. Anyone can knock you out…" he reached for her stomach, but she grinned, jumping aside.

"Yeah…if I let them come that near."

"Don't get cocky." He scolded, feeling a bit like a school teacher "I was just going easy on you. Your posture is all wrong. It's not very balanced, and that way you don't get the most out of the kick. Haven't you gone to martial arts?"

"Do I look like I could've afforded it?" she was still smiling, but Ren immediately scolded himself for his stupidity.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"What?"

"To insult you like this…"

"Don't worry." She shrugged "It's not a big deal."

"Will you please stop repeating that?!" Oh, boy, had his brain been totally disconnected that evening? "I mean…you say it's not a big deal, but why the hell should you let me get away with it?" was he FUMING? "I'm a brat that takes money as given! How the hell can you let me get away with it?"

"Well, it's not your fault that you've been spoiled rotten."

"Hey, I'm not spoiled rotten!" great, now he sounded like Horo.

"Ok then." She smiled this time, a genuine smile "Then it's not your fault you've been brought up to think this way."

Ren blinked.

"Was that better?" she enquired, leaning in to look at his eyes. He nodded.

"Yeah…sorry about that…I don't know what came over me…"

"Well…It's not a…"

"Don't say it." He ordered, while getting closer to her "Just…come here and do as I do."

For the next hour he showed her what his sensei had taught him, correcting her position to some extent and showing her some basic ways to cause damage. (not that she didn't know any, but not everything you see on the movies can be accomplished without wires and stunt men).

"That's right…" he mumbled, while walking behind her "Let it come from the shoulder, not the wrist…" he reached out to align her shoulder with her elbow and somehow got himself plastered on her back.

He froze. She froze. He felt the blood rush into his face and let go of her hand as if it was a poison spider.

"I…eh…I think I better go now." He said, looking away to hide his blush "The guys…are probably holding dinner up for me."

"Yeah…same here…" Sally nodded courtly and without much goodbyes, they left for their respective lodgings.

* * *

Of course, Horo and Chocolove hadn't waited for him, but it was a comfort that he could still yell at them and get away with it. Being the last to eat had its advantages, because he had the bathroom to himself afterwards for a long shower. Damn, there was just something about water that helped people reflect…relax…probably because that's where life began…but at the time Ren wasn't in a mood for a philosophical discussion.

He had been so close to her, damn it! Close enough to feel every little detail about her-the beads of sweat on her neck and forehead, the smell of her hair, the tension in her muscles…it had been just like then. His body had known it all along, and it had responded to her proximity immediately. Nothing, nothing but pure reflex had saved him that time…

Jeez, what was that woman doing to him?!

* * *

Sally walked through the woods, her sports bag swung over her shoulder. At first, she was unsure of the road, even though she had the best sense of direction in the whole group, but then she learned the pattern of the tress and she grew used to taking the 15 minute walk to the clearing in the woods, where she and Ren usually sat.

She noticed he was already there, swinging his Kwan Dao around as if he was performing some sort of dance. Stopping behind a big tree, Sally leaned on it and watched him. It was a sight-his shirt was discarded on the ground, leaving his shoulders and back completely open for her to see. It was interesting, the way he had grown up recently. He seemed taller…slim, but steady. Strong…was it some sudden growth spurt, or perhaps it was like that tale, where a smart, but ugly prince gives his love to a beautiful, but dumb princess, and the dumb princess gives him some of her beauty…only there was that line 'some say it was the fairy's magic, but most believe that love made him look so handsome in the princess' eyes.' Weird.

She stepped on a branch, showing him that she was there, and slipped out on the clearing. He turned to her and nodded, greeting her in his own way, then performed one last quick dance with the Kwan Dao before settling down on the ground.

"It's a nice day." He said, while trying to look at the sun…strange, he seemed very reluctant to look at her. Sally took a careful sniff at her hair-nope, nothing wrong there. They stared around, then Ren asked her to tell him a bit about the dancing in America...apparently, the disco had impressed him in a way.

Sally spoke for a few minutes with ease and planned to talk for as long as it took him to calm down, but a soft hum made her look on her right to find Ren fast asleep on the grass. Smiling, only slightly, she eased back on her arms and looked at him.

"Jeez, he was the one asking for it…" she thought grimly "How dare he fall asleep while I'm talking."

It was comical. And she thought she had no feelings.

* * *

Oh, she had lots. She just had them buried deep into her, where they wouldn't cause trouble. She did like him, a lot actually. He was a nice guy, he was smart and strong, and blushed very nicely…if there was a list things girls couldn't resist, a blushing guy was probably number three, after chocolate and a kneeling guy. There was just something so…innocent and defenseless…It was refreshing.

Sally lied back with a sigh, still looking at him. It still puzzled her, that behavior of his…from her experience with men and people in general, he was definitely acting out of norm. And yet….

Yet…she liked it. Despite herself, Sally really liked it when they walked around and talked and especially when the topic of their little tryst came up. His cheeks flushed as if they'd caught fire, and his desperate attempts to make amends to her were so transparent, even she saw them…It made her feel special, for some reason or another.

Where were they headed to? Sally didn't like to bother herself with such trivial matters. It was pointless. For all she knew, she could be dead tomorrow, so why try looking so far into the future? That kind of thinking helped a lot. So she lived, day by day, and enjoyed the moments the fullest.

Right now, she was looking at him, and she couldn't help feeling a tingle of excitement run down her spine. She popped on her elbows to see him better, and thought: "Amazing." There didn't seem to be a word to describe him the fullest. There wasn't one for the fire in his eyes, or that electricity that seemed to stream from him when he walked into a room, or that pure, animalistic power that hid in that slender body. 'Handsome' seemed too cultivated. 'Beautiful'…yes, perhaps he was beautiful. From all their little meetings, Sally already knew what his past was and that he didn't let his guard down easily. Yet now, he seemed perfectly relaxed on the grass, totally leaving himself on nature's mercy, on her mercy, in a way…

Sally winced with discomfort and shifted position so that she was lying on her side, with her head in her right arm, still looking at him. His shirt had been slapped on carelessly, his chest was still covered in a thin layer of sweat from his earlier work-out. She stared at the smooth skin in awe. So hot...He probably didn't even know the effect he had on women. Just the sight of those muscles was enough to send any ration downhill. And there he was, making himself defenseless before her.

She frowned-he shouldn't be so relaxed…he shouldn't trust her…if he knew what she really saw…what she felt, when she noticed some woman's attraction to him, when she heard his little admirers giggle behind her back…Ugh, she wanted to strangle them with her bare hands. To think, it was all just like in that song:

_"I wasn't jealous before we met,_

_Now every woman I see is a potential threat…"_

What would he do if he knew how some people looked at him? Probably get really annoyed. So annoyed that at some point he would lash out on a random innocent bystander…

She lost her balance and brought out her other hand to stay straight, and gasped. Her body had suddenly gotten terribly uptight and sensitive, and if she hadn't been so busy thinking about Ren, she would have probably noticed the red hot lava running through her veins. She grimaced with discomfort-despite the high temperatures, she had opted to wear her usual black jacket over her naked skin and she was beginning to discover what a really, REALLY bad idea that had been-the thick, painted leather was rough and teased her oversensitive breasts in a way that was driving her mad.

To think that such a thing would occur if she simply looked at him…it was inconceivable. She moved a little, wincing. At this rate, she would be so horny she wouldn't be able to walk back to the lodgings…and it would be impossible to hide her condition from him. Talk about embarrassing.

Maybe she should go back right now and wash the problem away with a shower…but leaving him all alone here was just cruel, especially when he didn't expect to wake up alone. He trusted her, damn it, and Sally may have been many things, but she sure as hell didn't let down anybody's trust, be it her best friend or her arch nemesis.

In that particular case, Ren was a little of both, combined with the most handsome man she'd ever seen. In her current state of mind she wasn't capable to think very straight, and he wasn't making things easy for her, lying there looking so irresistible.

Sally bit her lip, while she edged closer to him and brushed a few locks of inky hair from his cheek. The touch was faint, like a bird's feather brushing through the air, yet it sent sparks all the way to her brain. He seemed relaxed, but she knew there was a lot of pressure building up in him…the second round was over and they were no longer fighting in teams…the finals didn't seem ages away any more…people saying he was going to be one of the last standing…his family, of course, wanted him to be shaman king…so much expectations, so much tension…And she could relieve it…

Yeah, right. She kicked herself and pulled away abruptly. Molesting his body while he slept, was that really the best she could come up with. It wasn't going to help either of them, and what's more, if he happened to wake up while they were still at it, it was only going to add another touch to the picture of his problems. Perhaps the finishing one.

She got on her feet, resolute. There was a river nearby, she could smell it easily, and it was conveniently fanned by small, soft bushes that both hid and revealed the stream. If he woke up, he would know she was nearby, and she could use the rag she brought along to dry herself clean.

Nodding to herself, Sally headed towards the water, pealing off the uncomfortable clothes one by one.

* * *


	10. Dreams and reality

* * *

**Chapter ten**

**Dreams and reality**

Ren woke up with the feeling that something was missing…like a child that has discovered his plush toy had been shoved under the bed while he slept. Though it took him quite a while to realize what was missing from the picture.

Then he sat up, looking around the clearing curiously. Sally's gym bag was there, so she couldn't have gone back to the lodgings, so maybe she had decided to take a walk. A mental kick-to fall asleep with a girl, how stupid was that? Actually, falling asleep on the open was a survival no-no, yet he had felt at ease with her enough to let his guard down this much? Ren, my friend, reason called, this is not good for your health.

Getting on his feet, he decided to send the blood running by talking a stroll through the grass, while he waited for Sally to return. She couldn't be far, right? And he couldn't have been out for too long-the sun hadn't changed its position since the last time he looked. It was still a toasty noon, in mid-August, when normal people hide in their houses and don't come out. Luckily, the forest was providing enough shade so…

That's when he accidentally looked in the river's direction, felt the refreshing smell of water, heard the sound of the running stream and…splashing? He frowned. What was going on there?

* * *

Oh, yes, Sally thought, this is heaven. The warm sun had heated the water enough to make it pleasantly warm, without taking away its refreshing coolness and the relieving effect it had…The tension left her body when she dived in and for a while her mind was too occupied with fighting the current to think about the rather embarrassing moment a few minutes back.

Yet, when she emerged from the water and wiped her red bangs from her eyes, her thoughts drifted back to the young man sleeping on that clearing, not 20 meters away from her. She was pretty sure he wouldn't see her from where he was, but what would it be like if she came out of the river now and walked to him, ever so slowly, wiping the drops of water from her skin…The look on his face would be priceless, but she had a hard time picturing it. Would it be mad? Or perhaps mortified? Maybe even lustful? It would be so easy…

No! She sank down in the water, depriving herself of air for as much as she could without blacking out. Jeez, the physical torture got the lust out of her body, but the yearning lingered in her mind…How the hell was she supposed to deal with THAT? She wasn't very good with the mind business…

But hey, was it so hard to imagine bad things? They had happened to her all her life? What if he didn't like her? What if her body wasn't his type? Sure, they spend a lot of time together, and he was nice to her, but up until now she hadn't felt any sexual tension between them. Perhaps he was just not attracted to her type. And they avoided the subject of their little intercourse very thoroughly-what if there hadn't been more to it than a simple drunken delirium. She for one had had plenty that time.

The idea of rejection seemed to sober her up quite nicely, and Sally made a mental note to remind herself of that whenever she felt she was overstepping her boundaries and took another dive in the welcoming waters.

When she emerged on the surface again, she heard faint footsteps coming from the clearing and turned in that direction, her eyes searching for any traces of Ren's form. He wasn't anywhere for her to see, so he probably couldn't see her. His voice flew, distant and faint:

"Sally? Where are you?"

"Over here." She answered, slowly making her way to the bank where she had piled her clothes and the rug she used to dry herself up

"Where?"

"By the river. I….got my pant leg dirty and I wanted to wash it." Shallow lie, but he was probably going to keep away, too intimidated by the thought of seeing her panties. Sally snorted-sometimes, guys were too easy to read.

"Do you…need any help?" hesitant, reluctant, his voice came.

"No thanks, I'll be right there." She said, while getting out of the water and drying herself up fervently. Her hair was going to look a bit moist, but she had a hair band in some pocket-if she tied it he would probably not notice.

And while she busied herself with her pants and shirt, hiding behind a nearby tree was one very red, very embarrassed Ren.

* * *

There was something depressing in seeing your friends hook up with cool guys on Friday night, while you're desperately trying to contain yourself. Though Sally knew that even Lilly would get herself a guy before she did, it was rather unfair to watch her space out on the dinner table and make bad excuses to go out and make out with her boyfriend in the park, under some tree, or in a lonely alley...and there she was, thinking that all of them had gotten over the stupid stages of adolescent lovesickness.

Sharona preached a while about female power and how they didn't need a lousy man to make them feel good, but they all knew that Silva was coming around their house more often than ever, bringing take-outs from the Patch diner, although Ellie was sure they didn't make deliveries without asking for a big tip afterwards. And the little mall rat was also getting special attentions from Ryo, that guy with the weird hairdo, and since recently he had found the guts to ask her on a date, she seemed overjoyed to get a night out.

"By the way, after the third round started, there have been lots of shamans moving out." She told Sally while she was dressing herself for her date. The red-head was slouched on the couch, reading something, grunting out from time to time to show her she was listening. "Weird, huh? With the finals that close, one would think people would like to see."

"Maybe the rent's too much for them." The fact that the Lilly 5 was still there was more or less a matter of luck-they couldn't make it to the finals, for sure, but so far, they didn't need to pay a big rent because they were still in the fights. Sally wondered how long their good luck would last? Their opponents were strong, to be sure, but they had the tendency to give up easy. What the hell?

"I heard Silva ask Sharona if we wanted to move in a bigger accommodation."

"Yeah? And what did she say?"

"That this fit perfectly, thank you very much." Ellie snickered, while mimicking their leader perfectly "She sure likes to play hard to get."

"They'll end up ripping their clothes off sooner or later." Sally shrugged, feeling a bit uneasy.

"Yeah. Maybe she's waiting for us to get out of the fights…you know, so that they don't blame us for manipulating the judges. Thankfully, I don't have that problem." She eyed her simple red dress in the mirror and nodded "It looks good."

"Yeah, I bet the poor guy won't even know what to do with you when he sees you." Sally said sarcastically, and Ellie threw a pillow at her.

"Oh, shut up! And please, check on Millie every 20 minutes. I'd have asked Lilly, but since all she's got on her mind is Horo, I don't think she'll say no to anything." Ellie shook her head.

"What are you, paranoid that Lyserg is up for the same tricks?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, please! There isn't anything to look out for! Even if Lyserg is the lolicon type, do you really think he could do anything too her? He's too much damn of a gentleman!"

"Millie's not that much younger than him, you know." Ellie crossed her arms "She's just short for her age. And besides, it won't kill you to do as I ask, just this once."

"Ok, ok, I was just saying that you don't need to be so paranoid." Sally threw her hands in the air "Now, if it was somebody else, sure, but Lyserg looks like he's come right out of "Northanger Abbey", for Christ's sake."

"Oh? Comparing him with Captain Tinley, are we?"

"Actually, with his younger brother."

Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, I just hope that when I come back Millie will still be safe and sound in her room."

"Aye, aye. Don't worry, I'll sleep with her if you want." A sly grin popped on the young woman's face. "So…where is he taking you?" the dress she wore was new, but casual, so basically he could be taking her anywhere. Ellie shrugged.

"The usual I guess. Dinner, movie, maybe a stroll. He doesn't look like the kind of guy that likes discos." She tucked a stand of hair behind her ear "I can't be sure, so I decided to play safe with the dress."

"You sure as hell didn't decide to play safe with the panties." Sally stated, taking a swift peak under the short skirt

"Shut up! He wouldn't see them if we're not doing it, right?"

"Not if he takes you dancing." Sally smiled "Do you really wanna go that far on the first date?"

"I don't know." Ellie played with her lipstick, clearly a bit worried "He may be a bit old fashioned, but he seems like a nice guy. Caring…sweet…I don't really know, Sally, he's not a complete stranger. And…" she grinned "He is kinda hot…in that battle outfit of his."

"Ouch…" Sally whistled "Go easy on him, will ya, El? I'm sure Yoh's gonna need him later."

"Me? I'd be interested to see if I make it home standing." Sally just laughed

"Trust me, he won't know what to do with you if you don't help him a bit." She rolled on her stomach "You've been on dates, you should know how these things work."

"Not all cheerleaders are sluts, Sally."

"Never said that."

"Anyways…" Ellie eased herself on a chair "Most of the guys I went out with were idiots. They either drank too much or finished the evening with someone else. I never go out without enough money for a cab anymore-if you have to hitch-hike for almost 3 miles home, you sure don't wanna see the guy again. And if they didn't pass out on the floor of some bathroom or lose me in the crowd, they were so damn clumsy I only got annoyed with them." She shrugged "Maybe I chose the wrong type."

"Just be patient with him." Sally shook her head "You can get the coolest guy in the world embarrassed in a matter of minutes."

Ellie just smiled.

"I guess it comes with practice."

Ryo came and picked her up…Sally and Millie watched from the landing, how Sharona greeted him in a stuck up manner, how Ellie rushed to his aid, how he stammered and babbled, blushing bright red to match her dress and mumble half-audible compliments to her. Ellie gave her friends one look, Millie gave her a thumbs up, and Sally winked at her. The blond girl just winced. It was going to be interesting to see how the night would end for them.

* * *

Ren was trying to sleep…yes, the emphasis was on trying…the group had taken up Silva's offer to move into bigger lodgings, where everyone got a room for themselves and there was a lot more space between the quarters, so that they got some privacy. He tried to attribute his uneasiness to the new place, but he was going to be damned if those images didn't busy his mind more than anything else that day.

He closed his eyes in a desperate attempt to chase them away, but they just returned, absolutely ruthlessly to him. Great, was he going to fall asleep with the thought of her graceful body, diving in the water, sending diamond specks in the air and making his blood boil. Sure, the bushes and leaves around the river hadn't left her completely naked to his eye, but there had been enough, plenty enough for him to see and….gah!

Why was he getting himself into such messes again? Why was he so embarrassed? They had been more intimate than ever and yet…

And yet at the time she had most of her clothes on! All the impressions he got from her body, he got through touch and sensations. Damn, he hadn't even looked at her face. And now…now…

Oh, man, he was going to die of embarrassment.

* * *

_He was out in the sun, breathing in the heat of the August noon. The river was just around the corner, and he could hear her swimming in it, enjoying the solitude, the peace, the privacy….yeah, right._

_He dropped his clothes, one by one, and watched her from behind the trees. Somehow, the plants seemed less now, and the delicious view wasn't spared to him, even by a iota. She was magnificent, so strong and so beautiful, steel muscles wrapped up in silky skin. Of course, he didn't know why all girl's had silky skin, but it was a given._

_She walked out of the water, totally undisturbed and relaxed, as if she had all the time in the world on her hands. Now how the hell had he gotten so quiet? He walked up behind her without making her uneasy for once, and before any of them knew it, his arms were around her, one of them holding her waist while the other was slung over her shoulders. Sally didn't fight his vice-like grip, just turned around and looked at him straight in the eye, provocative, expectant…Then she smirked and he totally lost it._

_Next thing he knew, he was pinning her on the ground, holding her hands over her head while thrusting in and out of her in sheer ecstasy. Her nails dug into his palms as she moaned and bucked her hips into his rhythm, their breath mixing into one and their eyes never leaving each other. His mind blanked and he swam into a raging sea of pure pleasure, and while his treacherous reason called out, saying this could possibly not be true, he went on, regardless that this experience might overwhelm him. And just as he approached his climax, he leaned forward and kissed her hard on the mouth, biting her lips and drawing blood. When he pulled away, she laughed-a husky, deep, sexy laugh that just happened to be the thing to drive him over the edge._

_He let out a muffled scream and climaxed, before falling down on her, feeling as if he crushed every bone in her body doing to. Adam and Eve in their garden, huh? He thought before waking up with a start._

Ren sat in his bed and looked around, at first relieved to discover it had been just a dream and nothing more. Then, of course, he looked closer and discovered just how far that little fantasy had gone and cursed silently.

"Well, damn us both to hell!"

* * *


	11. Intimacy

* * *

**Chapter eleven**

**Intimacy**

Ren let the water get as cold as it could, before shoving himself in the shower and exposing himself to their lashing mercy. The rather painful experience quickly blew away the last traces of sleepiness out of his head and probably before morning, he could be back to his normal self.

The ruined bed sheets were already shoved into the washing machine along with some of his clothes. He could complain to Silva that he found rats on his bed and that way nobody would question why he wanted to clean them up. Sure, since Anna didn't allow snacking in the rooms, there was no way they could have rats, but you could never know for sure, right.

With an exasperated sigh, he stepped into his room, his baggy trousers a bit more loose than he would usually allow them to be, drying his hair frantically with a towel. His body was still a bit uptight, but at least the pain and dissatisfaction were drowned in the sewer for now. He could deal with it for a while.

Deal with it? Damn, it sounded easy. How the hell was he supposed to meet her now? He had barely made it out of the woods in one piece, and when he had come back, he had had such a nosebleed he had to lie down for an hour. Thankfully, the guys were suffering from the heat as well, so nobody realized what had happened to him

Great luck so far.

But it wouldn't matter if he couldn't see her anymore. And he wouldn't be able to see her, at least not straight in the face, after what he had experienced just now, and what he had seen earlier that day. He was never going to get his eyes off her tone arms, of her flat stomach, of her gorgeous legs and firm ass and round breasts and…damn it, what was he going to do? Were her ears the only safe-to-look-at part of her body? No, wait, the ears were too close, too damn close to the neck, and he was damned if she didn't have a nice neck. So slender and smooth…and if she happened to turn, just a little, he would look at her face, her mouth, her eyes…the eyes were especially dangerous. Thinking about that look she had given him, even if it had been just a dream, was enough to give him a boner again. And that laugh of hers.

He suppressed the delighted thrill that ran down his spine and leaned on the window frame, hoping to regain his balance, both physically and mentally.

Ren's eyes scanned the night landscape in front of him and breathed in the soothing, fresh air. A couple was walking down the street, half-hidden by the shadows of the trees. A closer look revealed them to be Ryo and Ellie, probably coming back from their date. His hand was slung casually over her shoulder, holding her in, and she had his jacket on to protect her from the cold. The bright red color of her dress matched her flushed cheeks, probably after dancing in the nearby retro club. They seemed to be in a good mood, laughing and talking at their ease. The sight was almost…homely.

That's when they came to a stop and he said something to her, too low for Ren to hear, but by the way he was looking at her eyes, he guessed the tall man was asking for some sort of permission. Ellie nodded, and in the next minute, Ryo leaned forward and kissed her.

For some reason Ren felt a bit embarrassed. Sure, he saw people kiss on the streets all the time, and it wasn't like anyone wouldn't see them now, but there was something in the way he held her that made it look special…that made bystanders feel…excluded.

Ren looked away and lied back on his bed. The rough mattress dug into his back, but he hardly noticed. He stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. Somehow, looking at the little couple outside had made him a bit…envious.

Ok, maybe not just a bit. He really, really wished he and Sally had been there. And it was not just the kissing part-because of the dream, Ren had discovered a fact his mind had tried to ignore for a long time, ever since he realized he was in love with the red-headed tomboy. He needed her.

Being friends was comfortable-it allowed him to be close to her and learn more about her, it was safe and convenient. But he didn't want 'comfortable', 'convenient' sounded frigid and cold, and he most definitely didn't like 'safe' anymore. But while flesh yearned for flesh, his mind felt drawn to a totally different thing.

Intimacy. Strange enough, women were usually the ones to seek it, but for some reason, whether it was girlish or not, Ren wanted it. Being together, playing footsie under the table maybe, hold her, enjoy the things they liked together…Damn, did love do this to you every time?

He wanted to hold her like he had just seen-close, as if telling the whole world that he was going to protect her for as long as they lived, and even after. He wanted to look at her without holding back and see the same feeling when her gaze met his. And he so damn much wanted to kiss her the way Ryo had kissed Ellie-not just meet her lips, but a real kiss, something that told bystanders: "What we have here is ours. Nobody but us can change it."

Damn, he wanted her so bad it hurt. The sad part was that she couldn't possibly feel the same for him. Surely, if she was in the same condition as him, she wouldn't have held back. She was a fiery, persistent, strong soul that got what it wanted. She had seduced him once (involuntarily, yes, but seduced anyway), and in his current state of mind, getting what she wanted wouldn't be hard.

Ren sighed-it wasn't a good thing. That girl was his weakness, and if his enemies found out about it, they wouldn't hesitate to use her against him. Despite the fact that Ren would hate to go against any of his friends, there were shamans in Patch village whose presence he loathed and avoided as much as possible, strong shamans, maybe not as powerful as Asakura Hao, but unpredictable and ruthless.

Thank God nobody would suspect that the high and mighty Tao Ren could fall in love with a woman that probably didn't even owe a hairbrush.

A loud thud was heard, followed by a silent apology and a delighted giggle. Ren sighed-they really should've gotten that coat rack out of the way.

* * *

Sally was staring at the frying pan, frowning so hard her head hurt. Ok, she had made sure the shelves of the eggs didn't fall in the bowl, she measured exactly two and a half cups of flower and she hadn't put too much liquor in the mixture-everything was done exactly the way she knew it was supposed to be done. So why the hell didn't the stupid pancake bake?!

Millie was watching her from the kitchen table, slightly amused at her friend's dilemma. Of course, the Ly's had had cooking classes at school, but they had treated them the same way they treated everything in school-they skipped, or as the French say_-secher les cours_. So virtually, their cooking skills were limited to defrosting ready-made meals, or the scarce memories of the things their mothers and grandmothers had made for them, before they died/eloped/went mad. Only Ellie and Sharona, who had been working with children knew a little more over the making of an omelet, and only Ellie knew how to make those pancakes Millie liked so much.

That was more than one could say about Sally, who maintained the theory you could make an omelet without breaking the eggs…literally. Right now she was close to panicking (read: go berserk and smash the offending pan against the wall), and there was nobody who got up early enough to come and save her.

"Let's give it five more minutes." She mumbled while fixing the timer. That's when Ellie walked into the room, her hair disheveled, wearing nothing but a baggy T-shirt that said _"Who needs big tits when you have a nice ass_." (ok, that was one of Sally's but the clothes had gotten mixed up beyond recognition) She was yawning sweetly and kissed her little sister on the cheek before turning to the fuming red-head with a sweet smile.

"Good morning, sweet honey. How did you sleep?"

"Great." Sally hissed "How many eggs do you put into soft dough?"

"Two." Ellie eyed her curiously "Ah, trying to learn how to use the mixer, eh Sally? I'm so proud of you! You'd make a great mother one day!"

"I'm not trying to learn how to use a mixer, I'm making pancakes!"

"Oh? Do you need any help?"

"Nope, I've got it all under control." She hissed vehemently while hitting the poor timer with her fist. "They'll be cooked in a giftie."

"Really? And how will that happen?"

"Duh, I put them in the pan and they fry." Sally crossed her hands "I'm not that stupid."

"No, Sal, I meant how will they fry if the stove's not on?" Ellie giggled and Sally screamed angrily, shoving the pan into her hands and stomping down on a chair.

"See, a little gentility does no harm." Ellie smiled as the delicious aroma of vanilla dough filled the small kitchen. She took the first taste of the finished product, added some ingredients to the mixture and then the smell became mouthwatering. "Good job, Sal. Just don't put so much sugar, or Millie will become hyper for the rest of the day."

"I think hyper is better than the alternative from last night." Sally said wryly, before cracking a grin "So what about you, Ellie? Did you get ANY sleep last night?"

"Of course I did." From around 5 to 7 in the morning, the bags under her eyes added. Sally's grin widened-she was ready to bet on a month of kitchen duty that the rosy hue on Ellie's cheeks wasn't because of the warm bed, and that Ryo would have a bruise on his neck with the size of a poker chip when they saw him today.

Sharona and Lilly walked into the kitchen, both sleepy and yearning for a nice cup of coffee. Sally, feeling more than useless, set off to fulfill that challenge. The quiet sizzling of butter, the tasty smell of coffee, the fresh colors of the oranges that lied about on the table…it seemed so peaceful. Ellie was flipping the pancakes into plates, then added syrup and butter before distributing them to her teammates.

"So I take it your date went well?" Sharona asked after the first reviving sips of coffee.

"It was absolutely wonderful! Who thought swing could be so fun! And he was so good at it too! I though I was going to burn out on the dance floor."

"You're a born American and HE thought you swing?" Lilly raised an eyebrow "I thought Japanese tabooed dancing."

"He's really into that stuff." Ellie explained "You've seen his hairstyle, is there a doubt in what he likes? Anyway, nobody dances swing anymore, not in most clubs. It was fun when he showed me the place. You guys should visit it sometime."

"No thanks." Sharona waved her hand "As much as I like a night out, I'm not sure we'd go unnoticed. I'd have only Sally to dance with."

"I don't think it was meant to be a girl-girl dance." Sally added between bites "I'd rather baby sit Millie again."

"Ok." Ellie grinned "You do that, and Sharona can drag Silva along."

The blond woman choked.

"Are you insane?! There is no way I'll go there embarrass myself in front of all these people, and with a judge!"

"Oh, don't be such a sourpuss! Even if you embarrass yourself, nobody would dare comment because he's so scary."

While they were busy arguing like a bunch of hens, there was a loud beep from their Oracle Bells (currently hanging on the coat rack). Getting on her feet, Sharona wiped the bread crumbs from her pajamas and went to see what the matter was. A few seconds later she came back, holding the gadgets with a weird look in her eyes.

"We've got matches…all of us."


	12. What if

* * *

**Chapter twelve**

**What if**

"You guys can't do this."

The Lilly 5 stared at Horo Horo as if he had just grown a second head. Sharona pursed her lips and folded her arms, preparing a long speech on the topic "You idiot men", but Lilly cut in, by saying:

"Are you stupid?! Of course we'll do it!"

"You CAN'T." He repeated, eyes narrowing dangerously

"Give me one good reason not to."

"You'll get killed!"

"Oh? You've fought those guys, have you?"

"I've seen them fight! None of you'll stand a chance."

"Oh, stop acting like a pansy! I'll deal with it!"

"What?! I'm worried about you and you call me a pansy?"

Everyone at the table sighed and rolled their eyes. Sally was laughing behind her hand, clearly finding the situation amusing, but Ren's eyebrow was already twitching in obvious irritation. What is that guy anyway? He knew very well that there is no way to talk a girl out of doing something, especially if that girl is our girlfriend, and yet here he was, practically begging to be slapped.

As if there weren't more effective methods.

Ren suppressed a blush. Of course, he'd never suggest any of them to Horo, but 'making somebody late for something' suddenly had a whole new meaning to him. Not that Horo wouldn't try to do it, but the guy had a tendency to panic when things got heated.

He stole a glance at Sally, desperately trying to keep his eyes focused on the edges of her spiky hair. _"Whatever you do, don't look at her face, especially her mouth, for the sake of all holly don't look at her mou….Ah, damn!" _He grabbed his glass of water, with additional ice in it and drank it all up, then filled it up again and emptied it in one breath. It made him feel better, and the others were too busy watching the argument in front of them to notice.

"That's enough." Sharona ordered "Lilly, for your own good, close your mouth. Horo, stop acting like a hysterical hen and relax. We're not that weak and according to my research, our counterparts are not quite the worst possible alternative for us."

"You did research?" Anna's eyebrow shot up

"Well, there aren't as many shamans here as there were before. And it's good to know your opponent, since the choices now are easier to predict." Sharona let out a small smile "The guys are strong, but they're the types we can deal with. Lilly's opponent is aggressive and she's passive-she can buy herself time until he's tired or can lose without him having to resort to breaking her bones or something like that." She ignored the squeal Horo let out and went on "He's the kind of guy who's looking up for a challenge-ergo, an easy conquest will be far from interesting. And even if he's still…violent after the match is over, we'll be allowed to step in and protect her."

"But we've all got a matches at the exactly same time." Of course, Horo was referring to his old team. Indeed, the early meetings were all scheduled at the same time and in different arenas in Patch. Even if Horo managed to finish his match early, by the time he got to Lillie's, it could be too late. And he really didn't want to picture what too late could be.

"I can swap my match for hers." Sally said calmly "We can talk to the judge and ask him to change the times, or swap partners, if it's ok with them."

Ren almost choked when he heard that. Because, naturally, he was hoping to watch her match and cut in if she needed help. Never mind she could probably castrate him for acting like some stone age idiot, it would be a relief with the dreams he was getting lately.

But unlike Horo, he couldn't get up and protest openly to her. Awkward, the situation most definitely would be, but not only because his friends would give him strange looks. She didn't know how he felt for her, and as far as he was concerned, it would be best for her never to know. Blowing things off like that was….

He sighed, watching Sally make her way over to Silva and ask him if he could change the times of her and Lilly's matches. The priest seemed a little insecure, glancing at Sharona from time to time, and spacing out even more, probably imagining Goldva's face if he made such a request. In the end, he promised to ask, but warned them not to expect miracles.

Ren decided not to bring the topic up and asked Sharona about using whipped egg as a hair mask, something Jun was going on about, hoping to deter the minds of the others from tomorrow's match. It worked, and for the rest of lunch, he was surrounded by the boring, but calm buzz of small talk. For the one hour before they left the diner and headed in their respective directions, he actually managed to maintain the illusion that everything was normal, and that the following day was not hanging from the horizon like an ominous rainstorm.

* * *

But now he was sitting on his favorite clearing, waiting for Sally to show up and for once in these few days didn't feel happily excited to see her. What if that was their last meeting? What if tomorrow, she would overdo it and die and they would never be together again? What if today would be his only chance to tell her how much he felt for her? What if…

Suddenly, the what ifs were cut off by the unmistakable sound of her steps, soon followed by the rest of her on the clearing. Ren looked at her face as she sat down-totally calm, totally relaxed, as if she didn't have a fight tomorrow. For a split second, he felt an urge to grab her by the shoulders and scream _"Show some emotion, damn it, you're killing me!" _Of course, the last time he grabbed her, both in sleep and in reality, he had done a great deal of things with her, and talking was not one of them.

He almost blushed. Emphasis on almost. Good job Ren, old boy, his reason called with a stupid British accent, now be all cold and frosty and….

Shut up! Ren snapped and looked at Sally.

"So I'm guessing you'll be the first to fight tomorrow."

"Yeah. The others are right after me." She seemed wholly indifferent of the fact that she could become rinsed meat if she wasn't careful. Her opponent was really into raw force and fought for the sake of fighting. And unlike Lilly, Sally wasn't passive. She'd fight back. And he was going to respond with more force. Ren wondered if there would be something left of the arena after they were done, something more than a smoking crater in the ground that is.

"Are you sure about it…I mean…wouldn't you rather have somebody to cut in for you?"

"The priest would be there."

"I mean…somebody who could do it in time."

"I have my friends." She shrugged and didn't pursue the topic. However, Ren was not so easily deterred.

"You do know who you're facing, don't you."

"Yeah. He's an animal."

"He's worse. He'd crush you for the sheer amusement of it."

"Was this the guy you lost to? In the first round." Ren winced.

"No. But he was the same type-he used little furioku and didn't seem to get tired. I lost by sheer miscalculation." He shrugged "Though I'm not so sure he'd stop hitting you even if you do run out of furioku, if you piss him up real bad."

"Well then, I guess I better run around the arena fast, because I don't plan to forfeit."

Ren didn't say anything right away. Then…

"Are you doing it so recklessly because you want to or because you think you should go first?"

"Hmm?" Sally's eyebrow cocked "Can you elaborate a bit on that?"

"I mean…did you decide to swap times with Lilly because you like fighting early in the morning, or you want to fight first because that way, if something goes wrong with her match, she'd have somebody to save her, and that somebody would be sad if she got hurt."

She seemed to give it a thought for a good five minutes, in which they stayed in heavy silence, and then said:

"A little of both, I guess. I mean…Horo wouldn't let us hear the end of it if he didn't have some sort of insurance that she'd be safe, and I never really expect anyone to come rescuing me. I can take care of myself."

"But supposing you got hurt badly? Wouldn't your friends be worried and sad?"

"It's a risk we all take." She shrugged.

"I wonder if you'd like to take that risk if you had a boyfriend like Lilly, or a little sister like Ellie." Ren asked semi-loudly. Sally looked at him for a minute.

"You didn't understand what I said. Ellie, Millie, Lilly, Sharona, all of us entered the tournament knowing what we're putting on the stake, and that's our only alternative. Sure, Ellie and Millie have only each other, and they are more careful when they fight, and now that Lilly has Horo, she has an alternative. Some other reason. But still, she will fight, because no reason is good enough. You see…" she sat more comfortably on the grass "…We came to Patch because the world of humans rejected us. And even though we don't like everything around here, even if we don't fit in, we can't go back. In order to stay, we must fight. Even if forfeit would spare us some wounds, we'd spend the rest of our lives wondering 'what if I didn't turn back that time'?"

"Are you actually suggesting that regret is worse than death?" Ren looked shocked

"Sometimes. Ellie per chance knows Millie will never make it alone in the human world, but if she can secure a place for her, she'd gladly give her life for it." Sally looked at him straight in the eye. Re's jaw clenched. His hands balled into fists and he had to dig his nails in just to stop the anger from boiling.

"This is truly a stupid notion." He said finally, before turning back and walking out of the clearing.

* * *

That night, yet again, he could not sleep, but this time it wasn't kinky demons and hot dreams that kept him awake, but pure and sincere worry…Worry and guilt. After tossing around his bed in mid-consciousness, with a headache and his limbs refusing to get up for a simple glass of water, after going over every bit of his conversation with Sally and analyzing it and finally reaching to the conclusion that he could have done better, he actually decided he preferred the hot dreams to that.

At 4 AM his feet finally listened to him and he managed to take a cold shower, coming to terms with the fact that he was probably not going to get any rest that night. He stared at the crystal clear drops falling down on him and wondered if Sally would be mad at him. Perhaps, just perhaps she was wrong, but in the end of it ends, he had his family to support him. Sure, it was a reluctant kind of support, but he still had it. Sally had her friends only, and her experience with life was a bit more throughout than his. To her, people and shamans were like a sort of candle-they could burn out anytime. So why let regret melt the wick even more?

Carefully, he dressed himself and got out to jog around Patch. As if his feet had a mind of their own, they carried him through the labyrinth of streets to the lodgings of the Lilly 5, still drowned in sleepy silence. Ren stared at the windows for a while, as if trying to decide on something, then walked up to the wall and started to climb it.

He found the room Sally shared with Ellie in no time, and had the good fortune of opening the window without waking either of them up. She was closer to him, sleeping soundly like a bear in hibernation. Her mane of red hair was a mess, but her face was twisted in a tense, nervous expression. Ren climbed in, more soundless than in his wildest dreams and went to squat down next to Sally's bed.

She tossed a bit and mumbled something incoherent in her sleep, but still failed to acknowledge his presence. Careful not to disturb her, Ren brushed some locks of hair from her face and noticed with a little glee that she leaned into his touch, her cheek fervent against his cool skin.

What was he supposed to do in such situations? He didn't know. But right now…right now he only wanted to tell her he wanted her to live. To be there when he comes with Horo and the others to watch Lilly's match and cheer on her friend with all her might, in the loud, exuberant way she only could. To talk to him again and be herself. To give him the chance to hold her once again, without fear that she'd disappear again.

"I want you to hang around more…" he whispered, allowing himself to play with her hair a bit "So please…will you just live this one more day?"

A tossing from the other side of the room indicated that Ellie was waking up, and Ren gently withdrew his hand, before going back to the window. A quick glance showed him that Ellie hadn't woken up to find him, and that Sally had finally relaxed. Ren smiled bitterly-at least she wasn't having a nightmare anymore.

* * *


	13. Still time

* * *

**Chapter thirteen**

**Still time**

A rather weak blast of fire hit the wall, right where he stood a mere second before. Ren dodged another shot and continued his prowl around the other shaman, feeling his frustration and fear building up by the second. That was good-the faster he lost control, the better. They were fighting for a good fifteen minutes, yet Ren was feeling it was too much already.

By the cold chill in the air and the bursting furioku, he could tell Yoh and Horo were already finishing their fights. So why the hell was he taking his time with that idiot? He was weak. Ren knew he could beat him. But…somehow he didn't want to reach the arena. Somehow, he wished that things would settle by themselves. That by the time he'd reach the arena, everything would be over and that he wouldn't have to witness…

No! Stay focused! Ren ordered himself and tried another mock hit on his opponent. He jumped five feet in the air and screamed like a little girl, his nerves tight like the strings of a violin.

But really, why should he bother. That guy, her opponent, could end his misery in just a second. What good had come out of his relationship with that woman, other than moments of insecurity and sexual frustration enough for ten lifetimes? She was distracting him from his goals, making him weak…she was dangerous. If they were to meet as opponents in the Shaman fight, he knew he'd lose because he'd simply be too scared of killing her. And he knew he could kill her-he had done so with Nichrome's brother.

He had imagined it and it hadn't been good. His family would be ashamed of him. He wouldn't be able to look at himself in the mirror again. But worst of all, she would look at him, uncomprehending, before walking away. And there ends the Legend of Tao Ren, the shaman who lost it because he fell in love. Damn!

But why couldn't he change that? Why did he bother toying around with the mediocre shaman, when he could've ended the fight ages ago and had gone to save her? Nodding to himself, Ren quickly finished the fight off, and without sticking around for such formalities as applauds, he dashed out of the rink and straight for the arena.

He wanted to know what happened. No, he didn't. Why should he care? The furioku coming from there was wild and chaotic, almost animalistic, and then suddenly died out. Ren felt his blood run cold in his veins. Could this mean that…

He reached the entrance to the arena, almost charged through the door and nearly knocked out an innocent bystander. Never mind the cuts and bruises, considering what could be happening there….

He slowed down when he saw a lonely figure retire from the rink, slightly off balance, slightly bruised, but definitely alive. Damn, Ren could almost hear his heart thump in relief when he made out Sally's features, and for a brief moment, it rejoiced at the sight of the smile that crossed her face when she caught sight of him.

"I lost." Was all she said before collapsing on the ground.

* * *

He removed the wet towel from her head when she started to show signs of waking up. The bruises would probably make the usage of a cane needed and some gushes were very deep, but overall, it looked worse than it actually was. Faust checked her before going back to the arena, and Ren was granted Anna's oh so generous permission to have Sally lie down on their living room coach while her friends fought.

"Where am I?" she muttered, while wetting her lips with her tongue. Ren tried not to stare

"At our place." He answered briefly, removing the compress from her head "It's the closest to the arena and I don't think Ryo or Horo would let Ellie and Lilly out of their sights today."

"How long have I been out?" Sally tried to sit up, but his hand was plastered on her shoulder, grounding her to the coach

"Not much. But Faust said you fainted from the loss of blood, so you shouldn't push yourself too hard." She had probably starved herself as well, Ren thought "Have you eaten anything?"

"I'm not hungry." She grumbled

"You should eat."

"I'd rather not. I don't think my stomach will take it well."

"Some tea then? Water with sugar? You should get something in your stomach."

"Water then." She sighed, finally consenting to closing her eyes and relaxing. Ren hurried to oblige, but by the time he came back, she had fallen asleep again.

Her cheeks were burning up when he touched them-perhaps her wounds were serious after all. He sighed-some water would do her good, but how could he wake her up so that she could swallow it? Of course, he could try to force it down her throat, but that really wouldn't be of any help if it fell into her bronchi and suffocated her. Perhaps lift her head up a little? No, there would be no guarantee.

Ren set the glass on the table and squatted next to her. She was burning, her face was all red. Stupid women, he thought, starving themselves to death like that…they went on about how they didn't need men around them for anything, but the truth was that if somebody didn't look after them, they'd die because they forgot to feed! He sighed-well, scolding her would be of no use if she was unconscious. While he was watching her, he remembered something he had seen in a movie once, something that might do well.

The two protagonists were spies and one of them was brainwashed. In order to make her remember him, the male spy had to give her a medicine, but she refused to take it. Finally, he took it into his mouth and used his tongue to force it down her throat. It would probably do well for this situation, but…he felt himself blush…it would be just like a kiss…They hadn't kissed since that time in the disco, and it had been a mistake…what if she woke up to find him assaulting her in such a way.

But…she was sick. Some water would only do her good. Besides, the chances of something going wrong were minimal. He was only going to help her, nothing more and nothing less. After all, he owed her…in a way.

Nodding to himself, Ren got up and took the glass. He looked at the girl on the couch and frowned-ok, so maybe the plan wasn't so brilliant. He had absolutely no idea what to do, but…still…

Brace yourself! He ordered. It was nothing, just a kiss. He was Tao Ren, damn it, he didn't back down on anything! Feeling the resolve come back, he sat next to her and picked her head up to support her. He took the water in his mouth, then quickly bent down, planted his lips on hers, separated them with his tongue and blew the liquid down her throat.

His fingers massaged her neck so that it would go down easily, while his tongue and lips moved on hers, trying to earn some sort of….response. He wasn't very sure what he was waiting for, but then….then…

He didn't see it coming. Her eyes shot open, but they were blurry, unfocused, as if she was looking at him through a smoked glass. Then her arms grabbed onto his neck and drew him closer, her lips starting to move and her breath mixing with his. Their tongues fought for dominance, and even though she was in a fever, her mouth was icy cold. Yet Ren couldn't do anything but reply to her. It was strange and twisted, but he couldn't get his hands off her.

He could have any woman in the world and he knew it. If they weren't attracted by his good looks and cold demeanor, they'd probably swarm over him like flies on honey because he was rich and powerful. But he only wanted her. That simple, little stray kitten that probably wouldn't be able to use the cutlery properly. Why?

Because she felt so right in his arms. Because she was drawn to him, unconsciously, without a reason, just because she wanted to be there. Ren had a hard time realizing it, but the feeling couldn't be fraud. The way they fit, the way their lips burned, the way his hands roamed on her skin and it felt so familiar, as if touching it had been something usual for him. Her legs straddled him and pulled him in, his groins ached, he had absolutely no control over his actions. He pulled a fistful of her hair so that her head should stay in its place, but his hands shook madly when they ghosted under her shirt to feel the skin he had been dreaming about for so many nights…

It had to stop. He had to stop. Even when they fought for dominance, he knew that he'd lose, no matter what, if they didn't stop this right now. It was wrong, it was sick. She was in a delirium. She was probably concussed. She needed rest and relaxation, not…not him. Not sex. Not sex with him.

The first time they did it, they were both drunk, she had initiated it, but it was his fault. He was supposed to be stronger, yet he had taken advantage of her in the worst way. That was before he knew her. And now, things were different…and yet totally the same.

She had been neglected, abused and mistreated. People had kicked her away and turned her into what she was. He had taken advantage of her. How dare he try do it again?

Then why was she so forceful as well? It didn't matter. For her own good, they had to stop this. Ren's hands snuck under her shirt, going over her spine, looking for the right pressure points. A stronger push and she dropped unconscious again, lips slightly parted and cheeks slightly flushed. Ren had to hold on the back of the couch for a few minutes before he could catch his breath again. It was hard-she just lay there, so totally unaware of what was happening to him….of what she had done to him…Damn, it took all he had not to go down on her like a beast in heat.

Slowly, he got on his feet, went to the kitchen and drank a glass of water. Then another. And another. And while he did so, his hands felt the remembrance of her skin under them…and the image of her pain.


	14. Irrevirsibly yours

* * *

**Chapter fourteen**

**Irreversibly yours**

If a friend is in trouble, offering your help is only natural. If that friend is, per example, hurt and tired you'd make him feel better. If that friend can't go back to his place to rest because, oh, his roommate has the keys, he can always take a shower and rest on your couch, and there wouldn't be a problem because that's what friends are for. What could go wrong?

Well, if your other friends don't know about that particular Friend, of course there would be some questioning why this sudden kindness is bestowed. If you've shared a quite awkward moment with that Friend, the situation may not be quite so natural as it is supposed to be. And if on top of all that Friend is of the opposite gender and you've been feeling unhealthily drawn to him for the past few days (or was it weeks), being uncomfortable is an understatement.

What could go wrong you say? Many things.

Ren was in the kitchen, chopping vegetables in thin, very thin slices, hoping that the work with deadly sharp objects would take his mind off the trouble at hand. Sally was here. In the shower. Sally was there in the shower, not ten feet from him, and they were alone in the house. Lilly's fight had ended, but Horo, instead of leaving Faust to check her up had insisted on carrying her all the way to the hospital, and with the queues there it would take a good two hours before a physician could look at her wounds.

It didn't surprise him much-Horo was the kind of guy that would be overprotective of his girlfriend. Of course, if Sally was Ren's girlfriend (an official girlfriend, the kind he went out on official dates with, dinners and movies and all the works), he'd be openly against her going out there to fight in the first place, but since she wasn't (a regrettable fact indeed), he could only grit his teeth and hope she's alright.

She had woken up just after he had put himself into some order and had taken up his offer for some bitter green tea readily. Afterwards, she had remembered Sharona had the key to the lodgings, but since her legs were still weak Ren refused to let her walk all the way to the arena to get them. Moreover, it was the leader's turn to fight, so she couldn't cut in the middle. Her clothes were saturated with sweat and covered in dirt, so he offered her to use the washing machine and take a shower there, and it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Sharona had also let them take the medical kit, if they needed to patch something up (gah, he hated the notion), so she could attend her wounds without the uncomfortable moment where he'd stare anywhere in the room but at her.

Sally had thought about it for a long time, looking a bit uncomfortable with the idea, but since the whole gang would eventually end up living at Yoh's lodgings (with Ellie and Lilly it seemed inevitable), she decided that if she was very quick about it, it wouldn't hurt.

And Ren had congratulated himself on the good idea, perfectly happy, until she had taken the kit and had headed for the bathrooms, unfastening her shirt and pants on the way without registering the fact that he was still in the room and still watching. Seeing her clothes loosen up around that sharp, chiseled figure of hers, even though revealing nothing but hints for what was underneath had given him such a shock he forgot to breathe for a moment.

* * *

The door to the bathroom closed, he hurried to busy himself with something, anything, to keep his mind from imagining what was going on there and what could be done as well.

Sadly, working with dangerously sharp objects had been the point of his life's training, so inevitably, his thoughts drifted off and he got caught up in a mixture of dream and reality. He could go to her. His mind came up with a thousand different excuses to get in the bathroom, get close to her, touch her body…If he could get her ticking, which always happened in dreamland recently, there would be no problem of them using their current privacy in the most satisfying way. He could tease her in the shower and then drag her up to his room and lock the door for a week, using one way or another to hide what they were doing from his friends. They could be really quiet, biting the pillows and muffling their cries of pleasure with wet, hot kisses. Or they could just have sex, then and there, on the bathroom floor-compared to the place where they first tried it, it was pure luxury.

Shut up! He ordered himself. How dare you!

How dare he indeed even fantasize about it? Ren lynched himself while gritting his teeth angrily and stirring the food in the frying pan. This couldn't possibly be what she wanted! Sally had just fought, she was sore and cut and bruised all over. Surely she wouldn't be craving for sex, and especially not with someone like him. And why should she? She was not bound to him in any way and she was most definitely not some servant, some right less creature that depended on him. She had dignity and deserved to be treated like a lady-not like a toy, designed with the sole purpose of pleasuring him.

Huh, it was truly hypocritical of him to even suppose such things.

But…but she never said she didn't like him. Ren stayed in deep thought for a while, serving the stew he made in small bowls. She never acknowledged that their little drunken stand had been disagreeable, in fact she said she had had fun. And she wasn't the least revolted by him, confining in him her secrets (well, most of them) and taking him as one of her friends, when one would suppose she would be uneasy, the least. There was even some hidden sadness in the way she spoke sometimes about sex…

Nevertheless, it was hypocritical to think of himself so worthy as to deserve a second chance. He was supposed to be strong, he had had to resist. And now he had to suffer the consequences.

He washed the dishes and covered the food, then there was nothing for him to do. Ren looked out the window and sighed-the fights were still not over, and nobody was coming back to check on him. Why should they? What could go wrong?

He could deal with anything and he knew it. Nevertheless, he'd feel much better if there was somebody else with him in the house other than the girl of his dreams.

A small alarm rang in his head-did they have towels in the bathroom? He was pretty sure there was one when he got out to jog that morning, but Horo had a tendency to splash around a lot. What if Sally…

Ren didn't finish that thought, he just ran to the drawers and got a handful of the thousand cursed objects. He'd be quick, he promised himself, I'll just drop them off and get out before she even knows I'm there. His hand went on the door handle and then…

"Ren?" Oh, crap.

* * *

Before you went into the main bathrooms, you had to go through a sort of antechamber, where the washing machine and the dryer were, and which was separated from the showers and the hot water basin with a mat screen. They used the bathroom on the first floor more often because it was just like in some Japanese manor, but lately Ren preferred the privacy of the showers on the second.

The door to the showers was cracked open, only slightly, and mercifully any embarrassing sight was spared for him. The medical kit was lying open on the washing machine, so she must've been tending the cuts on her legs by now.

"Um…" what was he supposed to do? "I brought you some towels." Ok, the truth sounded nice.

"Thanks." Came her response, a little muffled. The dryer rang, startling him at first, but giving him some occupation "Sorry, I put the clothes for another cycle, I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's no problem." Ren said, while emptying the clean laundry in a basket. He could leave them for Ryo to iron-somehow, he wasn't sure he could handle that high-tech piece of shit they had. "I'll just leave the towels with your clothes on the dryer." He called.

"Ok."

Ren threw her pants and shirt over the towels and put them on the machine, then went through the pile of laundry. To his pleasant surprise, she had remembered to separate the colorful clothes from the white ones. He examined a black pair of boxers with a certain glee. They didn't belong to any of his friends, and had a white snake printed on their right. Turning them around, he saw a sign that said "Sod off, losers!" right on the buttocks. Since it had a black sports bra with a matching white palm prints on the cups, Ren deduced it must belong to Sally and without making a comment, left them on the pile. He was going to have dreams about this, he just knew it.

This was the time for him to get out of the bathroom as quietly as he could, leaving her to her own devices and hopefully, not to kill herself. He turned around, ready to excuse himself, when he froze dead in his tracks.

On the wall behind him was a mirror Anna had ordered to install, since the house was full of girls and they had to have something that could help them put their make-up on. Until now, he had ignored it just like the existence of stuff like make up and hair gel and other things designed only for women. Now, however, the mirror reflected a part of the bathroom, a part which he was both terrified and eager to see.

A traditional Japanese bath is consisted of a showering area and a tub filled with hot water all day. If you wanted to lie in the water, you had to wash up first, and if you weren't in a mood for sinking around, you could just skip it. It was a traditional way, and quite frankly the basin they had was too big for the water to be replaced every singe time somebody wanted to take a bath. The water was heated up by some springs under Patch or something like that, not that any of the information mattered to Ren right now.

Sally was sitting on a small chair, facing the wall, and rubbed her body with a soap bar, careful not to get any foam on the newly tended cuts on her feet. Ren knew she was well build, he had seen enough to know, but what caught his attention was something on her back, something her long red hair usually hid from prying eyes.

Through the length of her shoulders, all the way to her lower back, her skin was covered in deep, ragged gushes. Ren could tell they weren't new, the contact with the water had made them stand out like road markings on a cloudy day. From the place where he stood, he couldn't be sure what caused them, but the word "belting" came to his head.

Could it be that…She had said her dad was a hypocrite that loved to break his own rules, but could he have hit his own child? What if he abused her because he thought he was in his right? Suddenly, Ren felt violent towards a guy he had never met.

"Ren?" Sally was looking over her shoulder, listening pensively.

"Yeah, I'll just take the laundry away." He called and excused himself.

* * *

He wouldn't make it, he thought as he cradled his head between his knees. This was too much. How could he ever think they could be 'just friends', when he was attracted to her in every possible way? Damn, damn, damn, god fucking DAMN!

Oh no, he shouldn't have thought that!

"Ren?" Sally walked into the room. A careful glance over his shoulder reassured him-she was fully dressed, rubbing her red hair with a towel "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, no problem…" he breathed slowly, his head still in his hands "Do you feel better?"

"Like a newborn, actually. Thanks for letting me use the bathroom again." She walked closer. No, stay there, he mentally screamed. If she came any closer, in the condition he was in now…he would be seeing red if she decided to…

She sat down next to him and bent down to look at his face. "Your cheeks are red. Did you catch a cold out there?"

He mustered a miserable 'no', trying to phase her out. Gods, this was getting out of hand. Just how obsessed with her could he get? Her smell, her skin, her face, everything was teasing him, telling him 'come and get it'. So tanglible…he couldn't take this. He needed to say something…anything…whatever came to him first.

"You look like hell." She stated stubbornly and reached out to touch his forehead "And you've got a fever as well."

She shouldn't have done that.

Sally didn't have time to register the movement-she just felt a powerful tug and the next thing she knew, she found herself inches from Ren's face. The Chinese shaman had straightened his back so that he could look at her openly. She had to blink a couple of times, before the current situation was made clear to her-she was on her knees on the couch, leaning forward so much that only Ren's vice like grip on her wrists was stopping her from tumbling down on him.

To make matters worse, that look he was giving her was absolutely…pacifying, actually. She couldn't move. Even if he let her go, the laws of gravity wouldn't mean a damn-with the way he was looking at her, she wouldn't dare move a muscle even if her life depended on it. It was primal and deep, burning her down to the core, thrilling her very soul.

"Don't…" he began "Please, don't do this. I know we agreed not to discuss that but…please, if you don't want it, then stop teasing me like that and let me die quickly."

Sally opened her mouth to reply, when the door started to open. Quickly, Ren let her go and teleported himself at the kitchen, and she lied back on the couch, pretending to be knocked out. She listened all around, as people came in, as talk filled the room, as the house slowly became animated. Slowly, she pretended to wake up and sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily. The tension was dissolved, and the rest of the day went pretty much normally.

Horo finally brought Lilly back and did a show carrying her around. Since he was much shorter picking her up and running around was bidden impossible by the basic laws of mechanics, but according to him, they didn't have "mecha-thingies" in Hokkaido, so that didn't bother him.

Later, Ren's next opponent turned out to be the guy that defeated Sally. Needless to say, he had a great time beating him up to a bloody pulp.

* * *


	15. Get what you want

* * *

**Chapter fifteen**

**Get what you want**

Sharona was frowning, while going over the fashion magazine in her lap. It just couldn't leave her head, that worry. It was natural and it was a matter of time, so why are you so surprised?

She wasn't surprised, she was just…taken aback. Now that the whole band was out of the fights, it was only logical for their rent to go up. They could always get some jobs, but that was hard-no shamans meant no customers, and the priests could mend everything now that there aren't as many fights as before.

But now that there weren't so many to compete, the fights were almost on a daily basis. The finals were drawing near, and it was getting pretty obvious that the ones to emerge in the final battle would probably be a couple of Asakura Yoh's friends. The guys that got the Lilly 5 out of the competition went down on their next matches…apparently, Lyserg, Ryo and Horo didn't like their friends getting hurt, and Ren…well, he was pissed up most of the time, so that wasn't unexpected. Her opponent…well, he went down, but not with the brutality she wished. Changing her position, Sharona frowned again as her injured knee sent a pang of pain right up her spine.

Too bad my boyfriend isn't in the fights, she thought….oh, wait, she didn't have a boyfriend at all. Not that it mattered. She was perfectly self-sufficient. She didn't need some worthless male to protect her. Besides, once they get what they want, they either avoid you, or they get too bossy. She knew all too well.

Perhaps of the Lilly 5, she and Ellie had the most experience in love life. Was it the hair? Does the blond color suggest something to guys? Or do the big boobs just scream 'easy to get'. She looked down at her chest-nope, they looked pretty decent. And it wasn't like she jumped men, quite the opposite. Of course, they ran away as soon as they heard that she spoke to ghosts or saw objects float around her for no apparent reason, but still, she knew enough of men to know when they just want to get their fun out of a woman, or appreciate her for who she is.

That last one never happened to her. Jerks. She lay back on the sofa and tried to get her mind off the trashed state of her love life, only to come back to square one-what should she do about the lodgings problem.

Without a job to pay the bills, they'd get kicked out for sure. Nobody could give them a job because there wasn't anything to do. They were still recovering from the traumas, so camping was out of the question. They could always move in with Yoh and his gang, since Ellie and Lilly were practically living there as it is, but Sharona hated it when she lived off somebody else. True, she liked to get things, but shamelessly moving in with somebody was not her thing. Especially if a half of those somebody's were in love with the other half-she couldn't stand the thought to live around happy, satisfied couples while the state of her social life could be called pathetic at best. Why couldn't she just find a nice guy? Well, maybe Silva was a nice guy, but she wouldn't go as far as to tell him that.

But why not? He looked decent enough, right? He could've always forced her to be his lover, but he didn't….because guys liked conquests. They enjoyed the chase. She had a couple of admirers who were older than her…total jerks. Maybe they thought that crazy girls were the best pray-you just had to get into their world, and then nobody would care about their babble. It was disgusting. What's more, with all her experience, one would think she would've learned by now.

Why couldn't love be easy? Or was it hard only for women. Sharona sighed-too many questions, so little time. She glanced up at the clock-Millie and Lyserg were still out on their trip to the Shaman museum (who knew that guy could interest her in history), and Ellie and Lilly weren't coming back from their double date anytime soon. Sally was lying around in her room, probably sleeping (she seemed interested in little else these days), so she was practically alone. Nobody could listen to the woes and sights of her current trashed life, but perhaps it was best that way.

Sharona eyed the door to the kitchen…they kept a bottle of cheap wine in the fridge, which they used for cooking, but pouring herself a glass wouldn't hurt. After all, she was always trying to be calm and composed, surely she could allow herself some recklessness. It wasn't a good idea to start drinking on an empty stomach, but hey, she did have a steady lunch…probably her last one.

* * *

Silva knocked on the door of the lodgings, hoping that this time there wouldn't be any nasty surprises in store for him. Last time he got a shoe hurled at him, and even though Ellie apologized afterwards, saying that she hadn't been aiming for him, it had hurt. Now, however, the place showed no signs of hysterical girl activity and he hoped he could convey the message he'd been trying to convey for weeks now.

It seemed, thought, that the place showed no signs of life at all-as if its five dwellers had disappeared. He began to panic-he was sure they were unfit to travel, and their lights had been up last nigh (he just happened to be passing by, stalking, who's stalking?). Silva was just certain they'd be there.

But maybe they went to see some fights. Or hung out with Yoh and the others…they did that very often now days…

Then the door opened and revealed just the person he'd been looking for…almost.

Silva blinked.

"Erm…Hi, Sharona."

She didn't look very aggravated…actually, she seemed almost peaceful. But she was leaning on the doorframe, which put him on alert-she never leaned on anything. She liked to show the word that she didn't need any support, physical or mental. She was the supporting beam, not others…yes, something was definitely wrong.

It took him another likewise deduction to realize she was drunk.

"Hello." She purred rather coherently and looked at him in a dazed manner. If it wasn't for the bitter smell of wine in her breath he could've sworn she had just woken up. "How are you doin'?"

"Great…just…perfect…" he mumbled, marveling at the way even a wrinkled dress looked hot on her. She must be alone, he thought, her friends wouldn't have allowed her to drink too much, right? Bracing himself, he said: "Um…I wanted to speak to you about something…can I come it?"

"Sure." She pushed herself off the doorframe. The first three buttons of her dress were undone, making her neck look longer and more slender, and the way her chest moved indicated that she wasn't wearing a bra.

The state of the living room only confirmed his suspicions. The bottle of white wine was half-empty on the table, the cushions on the couch were thrown on some chairs, and the wine glass was resting on the ground next to her stockings and a lacy white object she casually kicked under the carpet before he stared at it for too long.

"So…" popping on the couch with her legs under her, Sharona bent forward to retrieve the glass and gave the poor priest a good look at her cleavage "What do you want to talk about?"

For a drunk person, she was pretty coherent, he thought as he scanned the room for a safe place to sit.

"What are you standing for?" she patted the seat next to her "Come here with me. Good friends shouldn't but distance between each other, right?"

"Yeah…sure." He sat down, but he tried to create some space between himself and the young woman. Her skirt had ridded up her legs, revealing miles and miles of smooth, creamy flesh, and the view was just too tantalizing "I was…wondering…if you girls liked it in here…in this lodgings that is. Does it…suit you?"

"Well, beggars can't be choosers, right?" she shrugged "Besides, you'd be turning us out anyway, so we shouldn't set our sites too high."

"T…turning you out?" great, she was the one drunk and he was slurring "What gave you that idea."

"Oh, don't play dumb." She snarled "We're not in the fights, that means the rent is no longer taken care of. We have to pay the whole thing. And we don't have jobs. Isn't that the rules?"

"Well…that IS true…but that's the reason I'm here. I wish to help."

"Help?"

"Yeah, help. I mean…you girls can come over and live at my place…the council can allow that if the people can't afford to pay for lodgings…it's perfectly respectable, I've already accommodated several families…the place is big, and there are kitchen areas and bathrooms all over, you can live there without meeting anyone else even once."

Sharona frowned at her glass and then at the man in front of her.

"And…" she drawled "How are we supposed to repay for such…kindness?"

"No, you don't have to pay a thing, like I said…"

"You can't keep us forever, we'll just be a burden…" she went on, staring at her wine as if there was something wrong with it "A big, terrible burden. You can't keep a bunch of troublesome people in your house without getting a profit, and knowing us, the chances of our getting jobs are minimal. We can't support ourselves, but you seem determined to keep us no matter what? Why so?"

She put her cup down on the table, then looked at him.

"The old guilt routine. Works like a charm, doesn't it. When people are in debt, they MUST repay it, no matter what the cost. I know that because I hate debts, Silva, and I also hate this idea because I know there's only one thing that could be given in return in such a situation." She seemed mad, actually. But Silva had no time to think about saving his life, because she was sitting up now, closer than ever. "Let me make one thing…one little thing clear…actually a couple. I'd do anything for my girls…do you get it…even if it means to do this kind of thing with you…but I don't want you putting one finger on them, you get it. Not one single finger. If a hair falls off their heads, I'll keep you responsible."

This was dangerous, he thought. Very dangerous. She was drunk and obvious got things wrong. He should make her rest, drink a few cups of strong coffee and sober up before he explained anything to her…or maybe just leave her rest…No, if she got the wrong impression, by the end of the evening the whole village would think he's a pervert. Besides, she could hurt herself…in that condition…

Suddenly, he realized that she was watching him with an entirely different expression. Her features were twisted in a pained, melancholic expression.

"What's with guys anyway…" she mused out loud, her eyes turning at the distance "I can't get it…what's with that…always looking for sex…where's the intimacy…where's the connection. Can you actually get anything satisfactory out of sex when you're not doing it with a person you care about? I've always thought that it's most fulfilling when you both get the best of it."

Silva was absolutely mute, his body overcome by the purest of stupors. How was he supposed to react in such a situation? Of course, he wasn't some clueless nimrod-he had had plenty of romantic encounters in the past, and some of them had been the result of wonderful relationships. Unfortunately, most of those women were his acquaintances, ones or twice-his good friends, who wanted to get back on a cheating boyfriend or just desperately needed some stress relief. He never discussed anything about sex with them. Usually, after that they refused even to look at him-sure, he took advantage of the fact they were stressed out, but they were the ones to initiate it, and the guilt both of them felt always destroyed their friendship. The logic was inevitable-lovers could cool down to friends, but friends that turned into lovers could never turn back. Ever again.

He stared now at Sharona, wondering on…mostly everything. She seemed pissed at something, not at him in particular, maybe at all the men in general. He could understand her-sometimes, he couldn't understand women, and sometimes that really frustrated him. Ergo: Both sexes have a hard time getting to terms when things aren't clear.

Which brought him back to the issue at hand.

"Look, Sharona, however this may sound to you, I'm not trying to get you in bed with me. I'm perfectly aware that you have your reserve and your right to be cautious, but believe me, my intentions are…"

"Why are you guys acting like asses just to get something you can earn with being nice?" she asked suddenly, staring right at him "We girls also want it…in a different way, maybe, but we need it. And I'm sure it's much better when both partners care about the other."

Before Silva could react, she pushed herself off roughly and landed on top of his, straddling his legs and grabbing the collar of his shirt. She looked down at him.

"Listen you…I have needs, ok? I have lots of needs. Let me tell you something, before you start thinking about yourself as a sort of…superman, who can take on five girls at once, try handling just one first!"

"Look, how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not up to anything!"

"Yeah? Then why?"

"Because that's what…people that care about each other do." He mumbled "Because…"

That's when her head descended briskly and their mouths crushed with each other. Silva was too shocked to react, and she quickly took advantage of that, spreading his lips apart and sliding her tongue in his mouth.

He slowly came to his senses and returned the favor, while trying to steady himself up. Sadly, Sharona had other things in mind and pushed him back so that he could lie under her. At that point her skirt had twisted so high up her hips that all it needed was a push to ride around her waist. With the front of her dress almost coming off, the view he was getting wasn't bad at all.

However, that didn't change the fact that she was drunk and that they would end up just like before, regretting and bitter about each other. Determined not to repeat his mistake again, he pushed her off enough to say:

"We shouldn't be doing this."

"Oh please…" she rolled her eyes "Who do you take me for? I noticed it long ago, you want me…"

"But you don't want me…" he pointed out calmly "You obviously don't. If you did, we would've gotten to here long ago."

"Oh, really?" her eyes narrowed menacingly "Are you trying to say that I'd actually risk starting a relationship with a judge while I'm still in the fights? That I'd have people pointing fingers at me and saying that I've gotten this far because I'm screwing one of the ten priests? I may be a lot of things, but I have enough pride not to allow anyone to call me a whore!"

With that, she made a move to get off him, but his hands grabbed onto her elbows and held her in place.

"I never meant that!" he said, now definitely angry.

"Oh, sure, and I suppose you never thought about it before, right?" she hissed vehemently, while trying to free herself. Unfortunately, with the position they were in right now, that only caused him discomfort and pleasure at the same time.

"No, I never thought about this before, and I'm sorry." Silva tightened his grip around her "I'm sorry, because I never supposed it, and I apologize for offending you. I'd never consider you a lowly person, and I'm sorry that I even suggested it. Please…"

Sharona considered it a bit.

"Apology accepted." She nodded.

At that moment, there wasn't much point in going back, so she sat more comfortably in his lap and slid her arms under his shirt, causing him to shiver slightly at her cool touch. She smirked as she let her fingers crawl and feel, and then he went up, laid a hot kiss on her neck, just on that small hollow at the base, and his hands moved on her shoulders, grasping gently the fabric of her dress. As she started working on his belt buckle, he pushed it off her shoulders, undoing the remaining buttons in negative time, and revealing her soft, white breasts…

"Hey, you two, do you think you can hold the foreplay until I get out?" Sally's voice came from the top of the stairs. The red haired girl dashed out of the house, without giving them a second look, and breather out something like: Jeez, some people, before starting to walk aimlessly on the street.

* * *


	16. Longer than an eternity

* * *

**Chapter sixteen**

**Longer than an eternity**

"That won't work." Anna tried to discourage him.

"Yeah? How about we wait to see?" Ren gave Horo the sign and the white-haired shaman turned the water sprinklers on. Tiny drops of water flew in various directions, following them seemed virtually impossible…then the golden eyed young man lashed out his Kwan Dao and started slicing the air around him, turning the small space in the garden into a rainbow-colored sphere. In the end, the pieces he cut the specks of water resembled a fog, making the liquid flowing out of the sprinklers seem like drops of heavy rain compared to them.

Ren wiped his forehead, even though he hadn't even started to work out a sweat. Compared to what he had been doing recently, this was a snitch.

Because the finals were right ahead of him, and it had turned out just like a god-damn déjà vu! Yoh vs. Ren, the big showdown, get your tickets here, said the posters all around the village. For a mere week, when the final matches were taking place, the seemingly lifeless places filled with people. Shamans who had lost the fights came again, this time to witness the big event, the fight everyone had been waiting for.

Everyone except Ren, who felt like he had been ran over by an elephant…or two…or a whole stampede of them. It wasn't about the fight itself, damn it. He could handle a fight. He fought for a living. But…everyone made it so difficult…

His family per instance-since the shaman council foresaw who'd be on the finals as soon as those asswipes that defeated the Ly's flew out of the fights, their families were sent for immediately. The arrival of Mikihisa and Keiko, as well as Yoh's grandparents was met with cheers and happy faces. The lay-back shaman had a lot of catching up to do with his parents and the arrival of Kino-sama softened Anna's monstrous training sessions a bit…but only a bit and only for a short time, because her tutor decided that it would be fun to supervise her pupil as she gave her future husband a hard time. Poor Yoh.

However, the arrival of Ren's family wasn't as cordial. The Taos arrived in all their dark and reserved attitudes, to be greeted silently by Jun and the "happy" finalist. They talked over a quite family dinner, followed by a game of Mah-Jong, but their bonding activities ended there. Jun stayed with her mother and her grandfather often, drinking tea and catching up on news, and Ren avoided his father as much as possible…perhaps the latter also did the same, because they didn't speak until three days before the big match.

Tao En never was a man who wrapped his thoughts in many words, so he was blunt and straight to the point with his son-the odds were high, but he had to remember that he had his whole family to support him, and that the legacy and traditions were the most important thing. It was impossible for some…debutant, such as Asakura Yoh to win…but if Ren happened to lose, they would be more prepared for the next tournament, and that he would leave a lasting mark in the family's history.

Ren listened to that little speech with his eyes locked at a point a little on the left from his father's ear, trying to keep his mind blank and struggled sighing from irritation every time he heard En struggle against the words "when you lose". It was true-they had given up all hope on him. Even his own father thought Yoh would be the victor. Period.

Though he was used to the lack of cordiality from his parents (well, his father, mothers weren't meant to spoil their children by hugging them and telling them everything would be just fine), the behavior of his friends did take him aback at first. They talked to him, but only when they had to. They encouraged him, but without much heart. And they did everything possible not to talk about the future match in front of him.

_"What's wrong with you, god damn it!"_ he screamed on the inside. _"Why are you shunning me out? Don't I deserve honesty any more? If you signed me out, you should have the goodness to tell me in the face, instead of cowering like idiots!"_ Good thing his mask of cold indifference didn't fail him, he didn't feel like being hysterical "in front of them.

Of course, they also thought Yoh would win…that he should win. Who was Ren anyway? A spoiled rich brat, who thought only of himself. A puppet, who did as his father bid. Some guy who fought for some family legacy, where as Yoh…

Yoh was a fair angel sent from Heaven. A young man who thought of everybody. That's the kind of person that should be Shaman King-somebody who despised war and fighting, somebody who always solved problems peacefully and who found the medium that suited everyone just right. And Ren hated himself, because on the inside, he agreed with them. Because he also believed that Yoh should be the better Shaman King, that he should've been given the title without any tournament…and most of all, he loathed himself for having to fight him, for not having enough guts to forfeit.

But he had gotten that far, right? How could he face his family, even with his father's changed ways, how could he just give up?

So he trained, he worked out, he did everything he could to avoid the talk, the eyes, the thoughts…especially the thoughts. They were the most dangerous of all.

Perhaps he had to be thankful that he didn't bump into Sally…he didn't know how to talk to her right now, and to tell the truth, his absences wouldn't go unnoticed by his father. With so much happening, he wasn't sure if he could even begin to explain what they had with her.

What they had? He didn't know either. They hadn't had the chance to talk in private after that day, when she lost and he did his "confession" to her. Maybe women just knew when you needed your space…maybe she was scared to face him…maybe she just knew that it was for her best to stay away from his father. Whatever the reason was, Ren felt strangely relieved he didn't get her mixed into this. Sure, the dreams were as strong as ever, but at least now he had a good reason for the midnight work-outs and the lack of sleep.

* * *

To love or not to love…that was a really difficult one. Sally stared at the small pond before her and wondered for the nth time how to go about this. It was raining heavily, soaking her hair and clothes into a way she thought never existed. The wind was wailing, turning the forest into a scary monster, ready to snap out and eat you. She was bound to catch a cold, but the terrible weather was guaranteeing that nobody would bother her.

Sally wiped a few strands of hair from her eyes and frowned-even he wouldn't come to look for her now. He had too much on his hands to worry about than her.

The big day was drawing near, and of course, she had to be there to watch. She couldn't just…stay away. Right?

Of course she couldn't. But the bigger matter was, what to do about them. For the last few weeks, her life had been a real fairy tale…in her standards, but still. It had been wonderful, just being there with him, and the weird hornyness had also been a fun. He was wonderful, even when he avoided her. Even when he blushed ever so sweetly. How could she live on? When the tournament was over, what would happen? He'd go back home, and they'd never see each other ever again.

Not that he would miss her. How could he? But she…well, after what they'd been through…almost…well, was it really going to end up like this? In secrecy? At least they should talk for the last time, even if it's about something stupid and irrelevant. The question was-when? The fight was coming up, scary and inevitable, and there was nothing anyone could do? Should she go and talk to him before it? With the rumors of him overworking himself, talking to him after the fight seemed impossible. She had seen him sweat in the desert, and even though he looked terribly hot, he would catch his death if he went on like that.

And the final match would be a fight for life and death. What if he was so desperate to win that he would kill himself? Sally didn't want to imagine such things, and she realized that he may not be in the mood for talking, but one time, just one time was all she needed.

Coming to a decision, she started walking through the forest, back to their lodgings for a hot shower and a clean change of clothes.

* * *

It was a good thing they had Faust, Ren thought. Even though he supported Yoh just like everyone else, he was a doctor, and safe for Eliza's lover, he put being a doctor in first place. Which meant he helped all his patients the best he could, without classifying them by his own preferences.

The blond-haired man gave Ren a complete check-up the day before the big showdown, listened to him patiently, and gave him some herbs that were supposed to help him catch some shut eye. The ink-haired shaman thanked him, while trying not to feel too exhausted to walk. It had been a though week spent in waiting, but at long last, the end was close.

He went to his room, without bothering with dinner, said good night to his family and gave his mother and sister a hug (lest he should forget), then shut himself in his room.

They had moved into a different lodgings, practically glued to the stadium, which was meant to help him get to his place, avoiding the crowds and any…unwanted clashes before the match. Yoh and his family were placed in a house on the other side. It wasn't much different from their old place, but Ren felt cold in it. It lacked warmth, happy memories…Oh well…at least he got a whole apartment to himself, which provided him with enough privacy to think.

The herbs were carefully folded in a cloth, but he didn't feel like using them. All he needed was some rest and…

Sally…Suddenly, his thoughts turned back to her and he wondered what she'd be doing right now? Probably listening to the prognosis of the match, like the rest of the world. He should've talked to her, he thought, at least once…but it was too late now, wasn't it? Far too late.

Or was it?

"Hi there?" a quiet voice was heard from the window. He turned around sharply, only to find the woman on his mind sitting on the frame.

"Hi." He looked at her in disbelief

"Can I come in?" she asked, looking uncertain.

"What? Oh, sure…" he nodded and helped her jump off without landing on his bed.

"I hope I'm not troubling you…"

"No, not at all." He cleared a chair for her "Sit down, I'll go get something to…"

"No need. I just…" she fumbled with her fingers, but she sat down "I…wanted to see how you're doing and…wish you good luck tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"In the match…." She explained, rather impatiently. The words were coming out of her mouth too quickly now, but he got some of them "I wanted to wish you good luck and tell you that…well, I'll be cheering you on…but I don't think you need that, right?"

"Actually, I do." Feeling the tension miraculously drain away, Ren braced himself on the small table and let out a little smile "I don't get much cheering on these days."

"Oh?" now that was a surprise "Why not?"

"I don't know." He shrugged "Maybe it's because the winner's already decided on. People think they don't need to cheer on the loser."

"That's not a good reason enough. The tables could turn." She said "Anyway, it's stupid to think so…fatalistically."

"True enough." He nodded "Let's talk about something else then. I don't really feel like discussing fights."

"Good idea. So…." She drawled, looking for a topic that was safe

"What have you been doing?" he asked her suddenly "These last days…how you have been doing?"

"Fine, I guess. My leg's all better…and the girls are feeling fine, apparently, because Silva barely gets out of Sharona's room, and I'm usually the one to baby sit Millie when Horo or Ryo show up. They've been keeping us company at lunches recently…" Sally went on for another five minutes, while Ren sat down on a chair, folding his legs under him and just listening with his eyes closed, determined to keep the illusion of some normality for as long as possible. Then Sally's voice went quiet and he looked at her, and saw that she was looking at him as well. Was it that he suddenly ran out of time, or the look in her eyes that made him freeze dead on place, but he just…felt that he must do something.

"Sally…" he began carefully "I know that…this may seem a bit weird but…I'd like to ask a favor from you."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well…" he mumbled "I know we agreed not to discuss this but…will you…stay for the night. Not like that…" he hurried to add "Just…will you stay with me for a while…I've got trouble sleeping recently.

Sally blinked a few times, before nodding: "Ok."

He reached for the lights when she got up from her seat. Fortunately, she was wearing a pair of cotton shorts and a t-shirt, so she didn't have to undress. There was a sound of sheets fumbling as she settled on the too large bed and made room for him as well, before the sound of her even breathing finally sent him to sleep.

* * *

"Do you think he's fine?" Ren frowned at the voices from the corridor. Great, his sister just had to be so…overprotective. He squeezed his eyes just before the door creaked open and she peeked in, before saying to their father "He's sleeping, don't worry."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry." The light was gone and finally some sweet darkness settled. Of course, since they had woken him up, he'd toss and turn for a good couple of hours before he found some peace, he thought grimly, before remembering the reason why he had fallen asleep in the first place.

Had she left? Probably, after waiting for him to settle in, she had gotten out of the window, just like when she had come. Ren felt a little sad, but…what could he expect? He had nothing to hold her with. Given what they'd been through, it was a miracle se accepted to stay with him until he fell asleep. Knowing that he would only be disappointed, Ren reached with his left hand behind his back, expecting to find the cold sheets…only to have it land on something warm and soft. It took him a good minute to realize it was her thigh.

"Still can't sleep?" she asked in a muffled tone. Great, not only she had stayed, but she was fully awake too. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried.

"How did you hide from Jun?" he asked, turning slightly to face her

"Talent, I guess." She shrugged. Her arm was folded under her head and she seemed perfectly relaxed, as if that was a normal routine for her…he sure wish it could be. "So you still can't sleep?"

"Actually, I dozed off for a bit."

"Yeah?" she seemed surprised "You were saying something a second back…but I didn't catch it. It felt like you were asking me something."

"No, I don't think so." He blushed, thanking the dim moonlight that was streaming from the window, for hiding his state from her "Sorry for this, it must be inconvenient."

"Not really. I'm fine." She looked at him, seeming thoughtful "What's bothering you. Aside form the obvious."

"I don't know." He answered "I guess…I wish that tomorrow wouldn't come. It feels like a lot of things would come to an end…things I like too much to lose."

"I'm sure your friends will be back to you as soon the worst passes."

"My friends aren't the only reason." He answered truthfully, and that time she must've noticed the intensity of his gaze, because he heard her take a deep breath.

"Hey, Ren…" she mumbled "Wanna do something?"

"What?" he asked curiously

"Just…I know it's supposed to help relief stress…we won't talk about it again, I promise." That's when he realized that he was squeezing her thigh harder than ever. She itched closer and started rubbing his sore shoulders with her thumbs. Ren sighed and rested his head on the pillow, not paying the slightest attention to the real meaning of her words. The position they were in was intimate and strangely comfortable…he felt as if they had been like this thousands of times, that this was just another day, and that there would be numerous days like this ahead. He closed his eyes and tried to hold the fantasy as much as possible.

Sally ran her hands down his upper arms and then his chest, reaching under the hem of the t-shirt he was wearing and touching his lower stomach, right over his groins. Then one of her palms carefully touched it, careful not to do something wrong. Thanks to the weeks of unsatisfied fantasies and wet dreams, it was already rock hard, but Ren, too preoccupied with the fact that this was real, didn't pay much attention to it. Then she reached and wrapped her fingers around him, running her hand up and down. He suppressed a groan and tried to breathe evenly, while she continued her ministrations, while her other hand rested for support on his shoulder.

His hold on her thigh was now painful, and he tried his best not to make too much noise. Thankfully, his family had gone asleep and the house was filled with flooding silence. Sally released herself from his grip and carefully started to change her position.

"Try to be quiet." She whispered into his ear in a low, almost primal tone "Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing."

She slid under the sheets and a second later Ren felt something warm and wet wrap around his penis. He did as she told him and tried hard not to scream when wave after wave of bliss crushed into him, rendering him completely powerless. But try as he did, his breath soon became hitched and he had to bite the pillow, just so that he wouldn't wake anyone up. Sally went on licking his shaft, occasionally changing her mouth with her hands, and keeping an eye on his expression.

Ren was panting quietly now, feeling all the blood rush into his face. A little more and he would explode. She was driving him closer and closer to the edge, a little more and he would…

Somehow, he mustered enough self-control over his softened hands to grab the back of her head and manage to susurr: "Sally, stop…"

To his amazement, she immediately did so. But the look on her face was enough to kill him as it is.

"Sorry…" she whispered, while sitting up "I…should've asked you before that…"

Ren was still catching his breath, but managed to get a hold of her wrist before she tried to get off the bed.

"It's…not that…" he managed

Sally waited for him to calm down a bit. Then, Ren also sat up and braced himself on her shoulders, nuzzling the crook of her neck.

"It wasn't something you did…it's rather…something about me…I don't want to misuse you again…"

"Misuse? If I recall correctly, I was the one to drag you in that bathroom."

"True…but that doesn't matter now, right?" he wrapped his arms around her, not moving his face from its position on her neck "I want this…but you don't deserve a guy like me…you deserve much, much more." He whispered

"What more could there be?" she whispered back

"You deserve someone who appreciates you for who you are. Someone who is honest with you. Someone who'd support you when you need supporting and who'd love you as much as day one. I'm worthless."

"Yeah?" she leaned onto him pensively "What if…I don't want him to love me as much as day one? What if I want him to love me more every day? And what if I love him back…" she looked at him "Ren…tell me, do you want this?"

"I…" she placed a finger on his lips

"No triads. Just tell me if you want this or not?"

"I do." She seemed relieved.

"Then why did you tell me to stop?"

"It's not like I wanted you." He kissed his way up to her collarbone, and then to her ear. When he reached it, he whispered "I just thought that I should have the decency not to come in your mouth."

"Is that so?" she suddenly grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled him down to mumble in his ear "In that case, don't ever say you're useless ever again, or…" she went on in a lower tone. Ren smirked involuntarily, then grabbed her tighter and knocked her on the bed. Hovering over her, and holding her tightly, he said:

"You shouldn't say stuff like this. You deserve better than me."

"Maybe." She shrugged "But maybe I don't want better than you. Maybe…" one of her legs glided up his own "Maybe I just want you to be fine. And you won't be fine if you go out on a match tomorrow whined up like a jack in a box."

"Interesting choice of words…" he mumbled, "So you think that leaving things like that just won't do?"

"Nope. It won't. So how about letting me finish what I just started?"

"No." he shook his head with a playful grin "I have a better idea. How about…" he leaned forward and nibbled her ear, before licking down to the base of her neck, where the skin was most sensitive. Sally sighed "…you let me call the shots tonight and we'll see if you want to continue."

She just looked at him, then nodded. Ren smiled and kissed her on the mouth, a real, fully conscious kiss. Sally's arms went back his neck and pulled him closer, as their bodies pressed against each other, looking for as much contact as possible. Then he began kissing and nibbling at her neck, enjoying every little sigh or suppressed moan that came from her.

Then Ren pulled up and looked down at her, while supporting himself on his arms. The smirk on his face was just too evident, even in the scarce light.

"What?" she asked, cocking her eyebrows "What is it?"

"Nothing…I was just wondering if that's how a person feels when he receives such a gift?"

Sally looked down at her wrinkled t-shirt and shorts, the look on her face slightly quizzical:

"Too bad I didn't wrap it up better, huh?" she said.

"Nope. It's just…fine…" he said as he slid his hand under the t-shirt and ran it up her stomach and ribs, all the way to the base of her beasts. "Quiet now, we should keep this just for ourselves." With that, he pulled the garment away, which revealed her fully to him for the first time.

Despite the numerous glints and fantasies he had had about her, the real sight was always more stunning. The pale moonlight that was streaming from the window gave her skin a matt glow, like smoked crystal. Her own eyes were brilliant and shining, sharp and anything but dimmed. Slowly, he touched her breast and lowered his head to lick at a hardened nipple.

Sally had to bite her lip to stop the groan from coming out. Her body, neglected and abused with cold showers for some time, ached for release. Even though her clothes were made by only soft cotton, the material felt terribly crude, offending, she wanted to rip it off…but for some reason, her limbs were numb, completely useless, and all she could do was leave herself at his mercy and hope that he wasn't going to feel like torturing her like this for too long.

Apparently, he had thought that he was obliged to return the favor, so he reached for her shorts. Giving her one last look to make sure she wanted this, and receiving an encouraging nod, Ren pulled them down her legs, before repeating the same operation with her panties.

The cuts and bruises from her last match were certainly better, Ren thought, but that wasn't what caught his attention. There were some places where the tissue had not yet healed, and there were some where the scars were too old, too deep to be made just a week or so before. He frowned-just like those scars on her back.

"Who did this to you?" he asked, rather briskly. Sally just sighed.

"Does it really matter anymore? I told you, my old man had some…ideas…"

Ren reached for her and kissed her deeply, while holding her for dear life. Then, he said:

"Remind me never to meet your dad…I don't think he'll walk out of the room in one piece."

"Don't you have anything better to do than that?" she asked as she fumbled with his trousers "Or do you want me to take over?"

"Not a chance." He smiled and stroked her. Sally let out a moan. "I just wanted you to know that."

"Mmm…" Sally sighed and closed her eyes as he went back to his original occupation, and continued his ministrations. She held her breath as he inserted a finger into her and started pumping at a steady pace, then added a second, and then a third…She threw her head back and chewed on her lip when he kissed down her navel to that spot between her legs, and then picked up the pace until her skin went on fire and there wasn't much to do but to urge him on breathlessly. Then, just as she was nearing the finish, she grabbed his hand, then pulled him up and crashed their mouths together, their tongues fighting in a fierce kiss, until her heart rate restored to normal and their need for air forced them apart.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked with a hint of irritation in his voice

"No reason…just felt like returning the favor…" she grinned like a wildcat and gave him another kiss on the lips "I thought it's only fair."

"Well…" he pouted "In that case, if you're not tired…we should continue."

"Mmm…you read my mind." She tried to push him on his back, but he had other things in mind, and pinned her on the bed for the second time that evening…or was it the third? He positioned himself over her, holding on his arms, and she placed hers on his hips. "Ready?"

He nodded and carefully buried himself into her.

Sally took a deep breath, and wriggled her hips a bit, trying to adjust to the new feeling. She didn't remember it being that big, but thankfully, having gone over this once, her body was quickly getting used to the changes. Ren moved into her slowly a couple of times, then began picking up a steady pace. Sally didn't close her eyes this time, and kept his gaze captured, as instinct kicked in and their bodies moved in union.

The feeling was overwhelming, yet she felt there was more they could get from this. Gathering enough force from the rocking motion of her hips, Sally managed to get them into a sitting position, with her legs securely wrapped around his waist, before resuming their play.

Ren groaned and grabbed her hips, trying to drive his shaft in as far as it would go. The sensations were so strong, so powerful, he could hardly see straight, yet his vision managed to stay focused on Sally's face, on her flushed cheeks and brilliant eyes, on her smile, and the fact that this was real and that she was really there, with him, and didn't want anything else.

Then they reached the edge again, and fell over it. Her toes curled as she bit on his shoulder to stop herself from screaming, his nails dug into her sensitive back, he screamed her name breathlessly. Then they both collapsed on the bed, holding onto each other for dear life, as the raging sea of sensations around them settled down and the last of its waves caressed their skin gently as they threw their bodies to shore.

They dropped off to sleep like that, without breaking their connection even once, not even bothering what might happen tomorrow. That night lasted longer than an eternity.

A/N-OOC? Too stuck up? Too pompous? I'd really appreciate a feedback on this chapter people, since I planned it to be one of the most important parts of this fic. No, seriously, please, please give me some reviews on this one, please!


	17. Dawn

**

* * *

**

Chapter seventeen

**Dawn**

Ren woke up, feeling slightly dizzy, very relaxed and terribly happy. It felt like he had gotten a week's load of rest in one single night, and this time he remembered and didn't have to feel guilty of doing it. Wonderful feeling indeed! To wake up next to the person you love after a night of such passion…Ok, aside from that waking up part.

The bed on Sally's side was empty. Ren wasn't sure when she got up, but she probably hadn't fallen asleep at all. After last night, he was surprised he woke up at dawn as usually-he thought he could lay around for weeks doing nothing. Yet, he was awake, the pale dawn was slowly creeping through the evening's hew and his match was drawing near.

But he didn't feel disappointed to wake up in an empty room, without her lying next to him-her presence still lingered there, with him. He could reach and hold her, even tough it wouldn't be her real body, and smell the scent of her hair, of her skin. Nothing could compare to the fact that the nervous strain was gone, that what he felt for her wasn't some sick little obsession, and that the simple admittance of truth was way better than idiotic denial.

Ren rolled off the bed, coming to terms with the fact that he'd have to get out of it sooner or later. He was pleasantly surprised to find a small bag from the local supermarket, with a sandwich and some ice tea, and a note Sally had scribbled on a napkin. "Gotta go, or Sharona'll kill me. Good luck. I'll be cheering you on."

He smiled inwardly-just like Sally. Sharp, court, straight to the point. Maybe he could get used to her impulsiveness. Or maybe it was best not to.

The sheets ended up in the washing machine, and while the shower was rinsing the last bits of sleep from him, Ren kept smiling for no apparent reason. The feeling was nice…she was his and there was no denying it. They would be together, no matter the result of today's match. He was sure of it. On one hand, if he lost, his family wouldn't shun him, not anymore, and he'd be free to do whatever he wanted with his life. And if he won, he would be able to do everything he wanted and…

Suddenly, he frowned. Contemplating victory, when only yesterday it was only his pride that stopped him from forfeiting? Interesting. To think, the things that woman did to him. Ren stepped out of the shower and changed into some clean clothes, before wolfing down on the meal she had left for him. Yes, wolfing down, because after their little "exercise" last night he realized that he had barely had a bite to eat that whole week. Taking care of himself…yes, that's what she made him do. After all, if he died from exhaustion today, they could never repeat what they did last night, and that WOULD be a shame, wouldn't it.

* * *

Slowly, the day came and routine took over. He finished breakfast and brushed his teeth. He practiced on the roof of the building. He made sure the family sword was in perfect condition and sharpened his Kwan Dao as a spare weapon, so hard that is could split a hair in two. His father came to give him a helpful and long speech, and Ren made sure he didn't hear a word of it. Horo and Chocolove dropped by to tell him not to kill himself, and Jun, his mother and his grandfather all gave him pats on the shoulder and reminded him that whatever happened, they'd be right behind him.

A part of him felt comforted. Another part WANTED to feel comforted, but couldn't. The third tried to act cool and analyze the upcoming match with the sobriety he was so well known for.

He went in the arena, walked down the corridor that led to the big clearing. Over his head, the sound of people came like the muffled buzz of a bee hive-children talking and laughing, couples and groups making loudly their way to their seats, popcorn and cotton candy and such…it was almost like a country fair. And there, in the shadows, just before the final portal stood a small figure.

No words. He didn't want to speak, words would just distract him. He approached her, drinking her image, hoping that he'd be able to keep it in his mind later. She was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and (surprisingly) a skirt. Ok, so it was long and painted in some weird shade of green, but it fit her well and only hinted of her gorgeous legs. Great, he was getting possessive now.

They smiled at each other, just before he went out on the arena. He stole one last glance back, not surprised one bit that he couldn't see her anymore-after all, hiding was what she was best at.

* * *

The sun was already high in the sky, and as soon as both opponents stepped out, the stands practically erupted with applauds and cheers.

Goldva, being the only one fit to judge the game, came up to them and gave the whole crowd the shortest speech she could muster (which, despite the lost and stolen notes took a good 15 minutes), and then told them to shake hands and fight with honor. Ren nodded, looking straight forward. Yoh seemed as calm as he always was, but there was that look in his eyes that declared right then and there: "I won't hold back."

He knew what it was, because he had seen it. Every time they had fought, Yoh gave his best to win. And he always did. But now the odds were much, much higher than the last time they faced each other on the field. The pressure was higher, and so were the stakes. Ren wondered absent-mindedly exactly how much had his friend slept these last few days, and how much break did Anna allowed him. The girl knew her mind, alright.

"So, are you ready to do this?" Yoh drew his sword out and looked at Ren "There won't be an equal finish this time."

"Hn…" Ren grinned "We won't even need a photo-finish, I promise you."

Their mixed furioku filled the air, splashed like impatient waves and fell down as their weapons crashed and they fought, a battle on life and death…

But the tension didn't fade with their furioku, quite the opposite. As their spiritual force left them, the blows became stronger, more desperate. The people were leaning over their seats to see better and gasped as a blade missed the skin of one by a synch, and the other dodged an almost deadly blow. Even Goldva had a hard time keeping up with their moves, and the walls were beginning the crack from the sonic wave, sent by some blasts.

"Hey, Ren…" Yoh asked between breaths "I thought you didn't want to slay people anymore."

"I don't." The Tao answered courtly and took another blow at him "Although it seems you think differently."

"I was just wondering…why? I mean, I thought you…changed your mind about your positions." Yoh blocked it and threw himself in attack. Their weapons crossed and they both tried to push the other off "Didn't you say you weren't going to live in the shadow of the past?"

"I did." Ren jumped back and took a better position "But tell me Yoh, are you fighting because you want an easy life, or because Anna's pushing you too hard? Or is it none?"

Touché. They continued their fight in silence.

But then, as their furioku was on the brick of disappearing, there still wasn't a clear victor. Ren was panting, the pain in his chest was almost too much to bear, and Yoh didn't look much better. With their spiritual energy going away the cost of oversoul was taken from their own living hearts. Very soon, they'd collapse, unless there wasn't a winner out by then, and it wasn't likely that they could be saved. Just as Ren opened his mouth to scream something out, the arena was flooded with bright light, as if the sun had come too close, and a second later, the two hung in some strange, undefined space, and they had a pretty good idea where that was.

"Why did you bring us here?" Yoh called, forgetting about his opponent for a while. Well, if Ren wanted to take a low blow at him, he'd have a really hard time doing so-the air was heavy and dense like syrup, and his limbs weighed as if they were made out of lead.

_"Do you really want to know? Or perhaps you just said that to fill the time?" _great, so the King of Spirits was on a philosophical mood today _"I brought you here because the human surroundings were making you lose focus."_

"Interesting reason, but what happened to no interference?" Ren tried to raise his sword to protect himself in case the air suddenly became thinner.

_"You both have reasons to fight, yet you don't have reasons to die. Why do you keep going, Yoh? If you lost to a determined person like Ren, Anna wouldn't be mad at you. And you, young Tao? You have too much pride to admit that somebody can do a job better than you?"_

"Oh, cut the crap off." Ren sneered "I'm not fighting because of pride, and neither is Yoh."

_"Then why?"_

The two shamans looked at each other. Then Yoh grinned goofily, and Ren's lips twitched into his characteristic almost-smile. "Guess we both just like to fight."

The king remained silent for a while.

_"One is stronger, but the other one would manage better. Fate should decide this, before history repeats itself with another tragedy." Great, did he mention he hated cryptic stuff? "You have enough furioku for one last blow, shamans. That decides the end of the match."_

They didn't have time to react before their bodies were restored to their usual physical conditions, Yoh focused on Harusame, Ren replaced his family's sword with his Kwan Dao and they prepared to strike. The light came again, and blinded them just as they were in mid-jump, but neither stopped. They were going back to the arena, but not fast enough. They felt the gravity pull on them, but still couldn't see…Steel met flesh, and Ren hardly had time to open his mouth before the pain pierced his right shoulder.

When the light dissolved, the audience leaned forward to see better. Gasps were heard, a murmur spread like little waves in a pond. Both Yoh and Ren were standing, but whereas Harusame still shun with the pale light of Amidamaru's spirit, Ren's Kwan Dao was broken in two. A bright red line was streaming down a gush on his shoulder, but the Tao hardly noticed it. He looked at some distant point, with a faint smile still dancing on his lips.

"So that's how it will be, huh?" he mumbled, before collapsing on the ground.

* * *


	18. Personal space

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* * *

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Chapter eighteen

**Personal space**

"Wait…"

"No."

"Sharona…"

"No."

"Please, let's talk."

"No. There's noting to talk about."

"Yes there is!" Silva managed to catch up with her and match her pace "Look, I understand your arguments."

"No, you don't."

"Ok, maybe I don't. But if you could just her mine out…"

"There is nothing to hear out. There isn't anything to discuss in the first place."

"Just because I told Goldva that you're living with me doesn't mean that I made you my…my…"

"Concubine?"

"That's not it!"

"Well, that's how you're seeing it."

"Do you mean to tell me that you don't feel at least one bit attached to me?"

"As far as I remember, Silva, we didn't come to any understanding, other than that we'd have a relationship that brings both of us benefits and we'd treat each other like equals."

"Benefits…is that the closest word to 'love' that you can muster?"

"No. Love is about gestures. About understanding. About mutual Respect!"

"How am I NOT respecting you?"

"You call me your concubine."

"I did not."

"But that's how it looks like." She stopped briskly and put her hands on her hips, pursing her lips and tapping her foot down "A single woman, living with you, you provide her with everything she needs and she provides you with sex. I guess I'm like Julia Roberts in "Pretty woman" now, aren't I?"

"You're not a prostitute. And I wouldn't treat you like a slave."

"Then what would you call me? Lover? Friend with benefits. The first pays her part of the rent, and the other doesn't live with you!"

"If a lover doesn't have money to pay the rent, the other could cover for them. You can repay me later."

"To do that, I have to get out of here. Because you KNOW I can't find a job here, right? There's nothing to do. So you'll have to take care of me, and the only way I could ever repay you is through…"

"Will you stop going on about that?! I'm not that way."

"In that case, why don't you let me stay with my friends at our lodgings and let us pay a rent."

"You said you have no money."

"Correction-I have no money. The girls found jobs last week."

"So you don't mind if they're paying rent for you, but you mind if I do?"

"Of course, damn it, you're a guy!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Hey, you two…" Millie looked out her window at the arguing couple "Are you going to stand there all day and let the whole village hear you, or you want to move it inside?"

* * *

Ren's head was weighting on his shoulders like a heavy brick. Then again, it was normal, wasn't it? Was he dead? Or alive? There was something terribly warm, a presence he was sensing, and then suddenly, hit by the moment, he reached out for it.

His face was buried in something warm, and in a few seconds, something wrapped around him, giving him support. And then…

"You know, I'm glad to see you too, but you may want to lie back." Sally's voice sounded somewhere over him. Ren opened his eyes and looked up at her face cautiously. No death glare or bitch slap…actually, she seemed in a pretty good mood. Surprising, seeing that he had buried his face right in her cleavage.

That's when the pain hit him again, and he realized with horror that only one of his hands was holding her through the waist.

Seeing his other appendage lying limp on his side, still attached to his body wasn't much of a consolation. Ren tried to move his fingers and the lack of a reaction sent a surge of panic through his spine. His heart started to pound faster, but then Sally gently pushed him back on the bed and said calmly:

"Relax, it's temporarily. Don't you dare die on me, Tao Ren, or else I'm gonna follow you to the afterworld and kick your ass for the rest of eternity."

That seemed to calm him down enough to smile and say quietly:

"So, Yoh really had it in him, eh?"

"Both of you overdid it." She brushed a few locks of hair from his forehead. Her cool touch made him close his eyes and sigh quietly "I'll call Faust to have a look at you, because I have to go back to the other rooms."

"Where am I anyway?" the nasty smell told him-hospital, but Sally's presence didn't seem to fit with the surroundings. He frowned. "What are you doing here anyway? Have I died after all?"

"Just for the record, Faust told me not to overwhelm you for now, so I'm not going to hit you." Sally crossed her arms "I volunteered to help out at the hospital when we lost a week ago."

He must've looked surprised, because she grinned "I may not have medical training, but I can patch things up better than anyone else. Especially Silva-that guy faints at the sight of blood."

Ren looked at the white bandages, wrapping his hand, and wondered how exactly "patching things up" had been necessary for him. Sally helped him sit up in bed and put some pillows to support him, then winked, and called Faust before running out to another room.

* * *

"So I lost, did I?" Ren asked as the tall doctor started to undo the bandages on his shoulders and torso

"Don't sound so ungrateful, Ren-kun. You gave all of us a good scare back then. And the audience got a little restless. It's a good thing Sally-chan was there to help get you to the hospital."

"What do you mean, restless?" Ren looked worried, as he bent forward to let Faust remove the bandages there "Did somebody start a fight?"

"Well, it was more like everybody started a fight. Some people were obviously on your side, and they were questioning Yoh-kun's victory. Cheating, I believe they called it. Sally-kun had to give a guy a bloody nose to get you to the hospital unharmed, although she did say sorry afterwards and gave him painkillers." The blond man sighed "But don't worry, Ren-kun. Thankfully, the priests had foreseen such a turn of events and they were prepared to stop the fights. We just have a couple of groups here that were rather…hard to tame, but it's fine now."

Ren didn't say a word, while looking at the sterile, white wall. Somebody supported him, huh? Interesting, those supporters must've been really scared of him-nobody had been honest enough to talk to him about things openly, safe for Sally. He looked down at his body and felt a small shudder-the light had blinded both of them, making them mistake both the distance and the power of their blows. Harusame had slashed down from his right shoulder to his left leg, breaking his Kwan Dao in two and leaving a deep gush. The nerves of his hand were disconnected, as if his body was totally separated from his arm, and the scar was going to be nasty, but Faust assured him that with some furioku treatments he'd be as good as new.

"It only looks bad." He explained to the blue-haired shaman "You'll be able to use your hand again very soon, and you're not half as bad as some of the guys we have here."

"I thought you said there were no casualties."

"Yes, but the weeks before the match were hard. People got desperate at times, and popping limbs back to their places wasn't the worst thing we've done here." Faust took out his medical record and scribbled something incomprehensible down on it. "You, on the other hand, got lucky. We could apply immediate furioku treatment, with your girlfriend and your team mates all volunteering to give you some of their own, and I can safely say you could get up from this bed and do a step dance, if you wish. I'll just keep you here for a couple of hours for surveillance, to be on the safe side."

"Thanks…" then he frowned "What girlfriend?"

"Why, Sally-kun of course. Don't tell me you two broke up?!" Faust laughed at Ren's expression "Don't worry, she wasn't hysterical or something like that. Actually, she's one of the most composed people I have ever met. With some decent training, she could be a healer."

Ren didn't answer, being too struck to make a proper comeback. On one hand, he was strangely relieved. On the other, he couldn't help but wonder if anyone else but Faust had understood. Though the irony of the situation wasn't spared to him-Sally, who could take a body apart, who could hardly control her temper-a healer? Strangely possible, he thought as he smiled barely.

"I guess we were pretty obvious, then." He finally said, deciding not to play dumb.

"Oh, no, not really. You two were very discreet. But then again, I couldn't help overhearing your little…activities last night. I was taking a stroll…" he hurried to explain "…You know I'm not good with sleep you know, and I wanted to make sure you were getting some proper rest before the match. But I have to say, the way you chose to let out the steam is also very effective." Faust laughed "I remember when Eliza and I used to enjoy life like you youngsters. But I have to hand it to you, you did a good job staying quiet about your relationship."

"So…only you know?" it was hard to imagine that everyone else was oblivious, but then again, they had put a lot of effort in staying hidden.

"Love blinds, but she also gives a very wise look on the world." The creepy doctor explained calmly "You begin to notice many things others are completely blind to. Everyone seems to be enjoying it, this wonderful feeling. Well, you can't blame them." He winked "But yes, it makes them pretty oblivious. You can't always see what's right before your eyes."

"So what did you see?"

"I don't think you need to be reminded."

"Humor me. I'm sick, remember?" Ren lied back, as Faust began another furioku treatment on his shoulder "I need to listen to something else than pain."

"The pain should go away soon." The blond man said "And as for your question, I guess it was just the changes that gave you away. Nothing drastic, mind. Not the absences either. It's just something about the way you move, the way you look at the smallest things, at the elements of your routine you change. You don't see it, you sense it."

"Sense what?"

"Your new look on life, of course." Faust explained as if it was obvious "When you're in love, you're not simply in lust, you don't just crave your lover, their body or soul, and it's not even their company or conversation that changes you. But it's different. You don't simply live for yourself, but for them as well. Love is mostly about giving, without a second motive than your beloved's happiness. It's not about really grand gestures like serenades or dramatic confessions, as it is about making compromises you'd never make for anyone else. It's about changing for the sake of no other than that person and other things like that. I'm sure you understand that, Ren-kun, you're head over heals in love with her."

"And here I am thinking that I'm not good enough for her."

"That, mein freund, is one of the symptoms." Faust laughed "Yoh-kun and Anna-dono agreed to hold off any celebrations and ceremonies until they make sure you're alright, but since you're up and moving, I see no point in keeping them waiting."

"Are they…here?" Ren looked at the door in disbelief

"Of course. They're in the waiting room, with the rest of the gang and your family. Like I said, everyone got worried about you. Would you like to see them now?"

Ren stared, failing to comprehend fully the meaning of this. His friends were still there for him. They still cared. They had waited for him, they had come back, just like Sally had predicted they would. Without knowing why, he smiled.

"No. They shouldn't detain the big event, right?" Ren rested back on the pillows. "Tell them that I'm fine….and if my family wants to come in, let them."

* * *

It was a quick succession of visits, with his former team mates, adversaries and finally-his family. None of them were the type to beat about the bush. Horo and Chocolove had said that they were glad he was alive because they would have someone to fight, and Yoh apologized a thousand times before Ren finally told him to get out of his room and get on with his coronation. His mother and sister just had to look at him, to be reassured he was alright, and his father and said something about going to the celebrations on his behalf, seeing that he might need some rest. On their way out, his grandfather gave him a accomplice wink, before they were all out.

A minute later, Sally came it, carrying a small tray with tea in it. Using his hand as a pretext to get her to sit next to him, Ren pushed up with his healthy arm and managed to steal a kiss from her, without spilling the hot liquid on both of them.

Sally watched him for a good ten seconds before she leaned forward and gave him a deeper, more comfortable kiss. His left palm caressed her hair and pulled her head close, she leaned into him, and they enjoyed a delicious eternity in each other's arms for…well, the amount of time they needed for oxygen. Then Sally, panting slightly, said:

"My shift ends in thirty minutes…do you need somebody to get you some clean clothes?"

"No." Ren shook his head "Although there is a thing I need to ask of you…"

A/N-Big thanks to my beta, TheArchon for this chapter. There'll be at least two more, don't worry about that.


	19. Untitled

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* * *

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Chapter nineteen

**Untitled**

"Are you sure about this?" Sally opened the door to her room and led Ren in "Wouldn't it be better to stay at your place?"

"Why?" he asked "For everyone to come by to give their condolences? I don't think so."

"They're not stupid enough to pity you." Thankfully, Jun had brought Ren a sack of clothes, so he didn't have to go back to pick those up. But coming to stay with her until the big fuss had blown over…"Besides, wouldn't it be more comfortable there? You get a lot more privacy."

"But it's too tense. At least your friends would be frank with me, and they won't be trying to avoid me just because they have nothing to tell me."

Sally decided to keep quiet on that question. Her room was relatively clean, but she wished he had told so that she could put some order. Oh well.

She cleared the bed and some chairs, then told him to make himself comfortable, before going down to the kitchen to find something for them to eat. Ren ignored the chairs and sat on the rim of the bed, holding his shoulder with his left hand. Faust did tell him that he had started treatment and that after a few séances he'd be as if nothing happened. It was doubtful-he felt as if he had never had a limb. Nevertheless, he knew Sally would kill him if he dared be sorry for himself, so he decided to ignore the…well, emptiness. As if Harusame, instead of cutting the joints, had cut his soul.

Well, like Faust would've said, it could've been worse. He could've lost more important organs than a few nerves. Ren sighed and looked down at his legs-somehow, it didn't make him feel any better. He looked at a pair of pants that stuck out from under the bed and noticed that Sally's wallet had fallen out. Reaching down with the intention of putting it on the table, where she could see it, his eyes stopped on a picture that was tucked in it. He took it out and stared, then gave it a small smile.

* * *

Since most of the Ly's were lovesick, the kitchen duty had been rather misplaced the last few weeks. As a result, there was hardly anything to eat in the fridge than a bag of nachos and some guacamole. Not exactly a romantic dinner, Sally thought as she dialed for a delivery from the restaurant…and was not answered, the jerks. Sighing, she decided to wait until the coronation ceremony was over, so that people may go back to their posts. They'd just have to fill the time with something else.

She found Ren sitting on her bed, smiling slightly. A rare sight, Sally thought as she contemplated his face. Now, the reason why he was smiling made her frown.

"I didn't know you liked snooping around, Ren?" she pushed herself off the doorframe and came in the room.

"I wasn't. It was just lying around." He shrugged. Then he turned the picture "You were very cute, Sally."

"Happy times used to calm her down." She said as she picked up the small cardboard rectangle. On it, there was a woman and a little girl, strolling down the boardwalk. The woman was smiling at the photographer, but there were tired circles under her eyes, and even though the picture was pretty old and rumpled, one could make out grey strands in her light colored hair. The girl, even though she was hardly reaching her waist, was leading her forward with a determined look on her face, and her forehead was wrinkled with stubborn lines.

Sally sighed. "Of course, later on, they stopped working."

"So why did you keep them?" Ren quirked an eyebrow. She shrugged.

"I guess I wanted some degree of normality."

"Normality, eh?" he sighed, looking at his arm again "I wonder if that'll ever happen."

"Do you have to do that?" she asked, sitting next to him "You make it seem like the end of the world is coming."

"No, I just never pictured my future like this. As a loser-yeah, but not as a cripple."

"You'll recover and then we'll see who's the cripple." Seeing no reason to make herself uncomfortable, Sally shook her boots off and sprawled on her elbows back on the bed, as much as the thin mattress allowed her to. Ren slightly turned his head, looking at her. "Anyway, you should think about different things than the near future."

"Like?"

"Something. I mean…there's got to be something waiting for you back in China." She didn't say 'someone'. That would be too harsh.

"Why should I go back?" Ren pushed himself on the bed as well, resting his back against the wall, his right hand folded in front of him "The mansion is too cold, I finished school early, and there isn't a university where I wouldn't be seeing ghosts of suicidal teens everywhere. I'd much rather stay here."

"You'll have to return, sooner or later…" Sally stared at her toes, her mood failing her "You can't stay here forever."

"I wish you could come with me. At least that way I'd have somebody to talk to."

"I could try for a scholarship program…" Sally faked some serious thought "But I don't know Chinese, and with my school record, I don't think they'll even fancy me."

"You shouldn't just go with the flow."

"That's what you're doing right now." She intervened "And you're doing fine."

"True…" he nodded "But as you said, I'll have to move on."

"Then I'll make you a deal-I'll move on as soon as you do the same."

"In what way?" Ren looked at her curiously. Sally thought seriously about it this time

"Who knows?" then she smirked "How about getting out of that personal 'I'm not good enough' crisis of yours and kissing me?"

"Good idea." He smiled, only with the corner of his lips, as Sally turned her head and rested it right under his chin, and he bent down to capture her lips. She smelled of Earth and rain, something like a forest after a storm, or the grass near a riverbank. It was weird, he thought as he brought his left arm out to cup the back of her head, the way she made his senses turn and snap. As if he was smelling green and seeing bitter. Then, slowly, she sat up and without much hesitation sat down in his lap.

Wrapping his arm around her, Ren broke the kiss and moved down her neck. The first buttons of her shirt had come undone and he nuzzled the valley of her breasts, while his fingers caressed her stomach. Sally put her hands around his neck and held onto him, so that she wouldn't fall, and let a small sigh when his mouth brushed against one of her breasts.

"We should've done this ages ago." She mumbled, her face buried in his hair

"You're telling me." Ren rolled his eyes "And you weren't helping, looking so damn hot all the time."

"I didn't mean to."

"Yet you don't have an idea what it was like…to be so close to you without being able to touch you…it was a freaking torture!"

Sally's eyebrow cocked as she ran her fingers mindlessly though his locks. Ren pulled her down for another kiss, cursing the lack of control because of his right hand. The phone rang, she broke the kiss and got off him to see who it was. He looked down on himself and noticed that he was still a little dirty from his fight, and they both smelled of that mixture of cleaning products and chloral that was so typical for hospitals.

Sally came back, frowning at herself. "Lilly called to tell me I'm missing a real feat."

"Horo's eating salad?" Ren questioned.

"Probably. The connection broke off." She shrugged, looking at him questioningly "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just…" he glanced at his clothes "Can I use your shower here?"

"You sure? I mean…did Faust say that it could open the wounds again?"

"He said you helped him with the initial treatment." Ren was already on his feet "And that means there won't be any trouble if I took a shower. Do you…mind?"

"Nah." She shrugged again, closing the buttons of her shirt "I'll put some order in here anyway." Ren nodded and disappeared in the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Sally gathered her clothes from the ground and threw them in her suitcase, then put the table and chairs against the wall, before going down to the laundry room for some clean sheets. She worked quickly, in precise, tagged moves, with the mechanic work leaving some room for her brain to process.

Ren was a warrior, she assured herself. His hand would get better. There was no reason to worry-in less than a week, he'd be as good as new. But…less than a week didn't seem fast enough for her. Compared to some moments in life, it seemed like an eternity. What if something got wrong? What if he suddenly snapped and did something stupid?

It wasn't like Ren was the suicidal type, but Sally wasn't totally unfamiliar with the aftermath of rough battles. Every time she woke up on somebody's doorstep from the biting cold, too hurt to stay up, she felt sick. The offence, the insult, the rejection every time they picked a fight with her piqued her heart like a knife. She was labeled a freak among freaks. And when they had to call an ambulance for her, when the doctor had told her that she would never have children….Even though she knew she couldn't cry anymore, something in her broke. If it wasn't for pure stubbornness, then maybe…

She shook her head-what was important now was the current day. Ren liked to show off, to play ice-prince, but he had a weak spot…and Sally couldn't be sure if this temporary disability wouldn't throw him off. Right now, he didn't need to be hit on the self-esteem…

Sally eyed the door to the bathroom, an idea popping into her head. It didn't lock, so technically, she could come in. Coming to a decision quickly, she started walking towards it, dropping her clothes on the way and kicking them under a nearby chair.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ren was discovering the inconveniences of showering with only one hand. It wasn't that it took him a good five minutes to get out of his clothes, or that the door couldn't lock, it was more that Sally's bathroom was very…uncomfortable.

Since there was only a shower, the tiled care meant for that was separated from the rest of the bathroom with a small, and creaky curtain. He wasn't used to this. He would much rather fill a tub and soak until he got too dizzy, but that meant he had to go all the way downstairs, and dressing and undressing all over again seemed too tiring to him.

Oh well, he had to live and learn, right? Self-pity…Ren hated weakness, but that was nothing compared to this feeling. It was disgusting, like a rotten fruit that you've swallowed. People, who used a tragedy in their past just to squeeze some pity from others, who took advantage of good, generous folks that were prepared to help them despite the fact that they couldn't help themselves…people like that couldn't earn his respect. Humans may be imperfect in many ways, but the thing that set them apart from animals most was their overcoming the obstacles of life with their own strength, no matter how hard it may be. If you gave up on the first hardship, you are no different than those savage beasts who sacrifice their limbs to free themselves from the grasp of a hunter.

Ren believed that, and he also believed that he shouldn't deter from his own values…especially if other people believed in them as well. He frowned at his reflection in the mirror-she'd be disappointed as well, he thought, if he gave up, just like that. If he...threw it all away. No, he wouldn't. He promised himself that he wouldn't. Coming to a decision, he stepped in the shower and turned the hot water on.

Suddenly, the door opened with a creak and soft footsteps indicated that Sally had entered. Ren moved a wet lock of hair from his eyes and stumbled backwards, holding onto the wall for support.

"Brought you some towels." She said calmly "I remembered we didn't have any."

"Oh…" Ren blinked.

"I'll just put them over here."

"Um…" Ok, so he was on a monosyllable mood. Sue him-she wasn't helping him out much, coming into the bathroom only in her lingerie. And whereas this lingerie looked good on her (GODDAMN SEXY, his inner pervert screamed), the question why was still in order.

"Sally…" oh, two syllables. Making progress… "Aren't you cold?"

"Hm?" the red-haired woman seemed confused, but then just shrugged "Not really. I spilled something on my clothes, that's all, and when I started to change, I remembered you don't have towels." Ok, still dancing around the question. She slapped herself-get straight on it, my ass is freezing! Her inner voice called. "Hey, Ren, do you need a hand there?"

"Um…well…" he stared at the wall, blushing "I guess you could say that…I mean…I…er…"

"Want me to help you out?" she asked

"Yeah…" he shot, not bothering to process the words "Sure, why not."

Sally nodded and went to the small cabinet on the other side of the bathroom to get some soap, while unclasping her black bra on the way. Ren quickly turned his eyes, feeling too embarrassed to be true, especially since he had seen her naked before.

There was a splash behind him and Sally reached over his shoulder for the bottle of shampoo. Ren tried to focus on the white tiles in front of him and not think about the warm body on a hand's reach from him. Her fingers laced with his hair and started slowly massaging the scalp, went from his forehead to the base of his neck and back. He had a good reason to close his eyes now, to stop the foam from falling into his eyes, but he couldn't ignore the heat emitting from her body, or the way her breasts rubbed against his back. Surprisingly, he still had enough blood in his body to get him aroused, so Yoh hadn't been that hard on him anyway.

The water washed the soap from his face and Sally's hands started working on his shoulders.

"You're tense…" she noticed "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…just perfect…you have no idea…" he babbled

"Hmm?" he could feel that smirk "I can see that…" her hands continued washing his back, moving further down, her tone totally innocent "So…you're not suicidal, are you?"

"No. Why?"

"I was worried. Just in case…" her fingers applied pressure right over his buttock…oh, she was going to pay for this…once he was able to walk again. "I'm glad you're ok. I…really don't want to lose you."

Ren brought his hand up and took one of hers, then slightly turned his head to look at her.

"Trust me…" he said, before giving her palm a kiss "You don't have to worry about that."

Sally smile and closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his neck. Ren smirked and held onto her elbow with his left hand, and managed to turn just about enough to kiss her. She kissed him back, and soon the bathroom became hot with deep sighs and little moans. Ren turned her around and used his weight to pin Sally under the wall of the shower. Disadvantage of using one hand # 12,223-no matter how hard you're trying, you just don't have the upper hand on the situation.

"Damn, I hope Faust heals my hand completely." He mumbled against her lips "This is not like me?"

"You really can't stand not to be in control." She laughed, rather amused. Ren rolled his eyes.

"What control?" her leg wrapped around his waist and she pulled him closer. He reached and brushed her wet strands of hair away from her face. His fingers traced a deep scar that ran through her lower back, causing her to frown slightly. "Sorry. Did it hurt?"

"No." she shook her head "It's just annoying to be reminded of this…right now."

"Sorry." His hand went on her thigh "But I really don't think we'll pull this off here."

"Yeah, you're right. We're not that good in bathrooms." She laughed

"Don't be that cocky…"

"That's you." Sally reminded him as she rocked her hips against his, causing him to groan out

"Do you really think we can do it here…now?"

"No." she shook her head "But it's a nice option." Then without a word, she pinned him against the wall, went on her knees and took him into her mouth. Ren tried to protest, but the words stuck into his throat when she ran her tongue through his length. He threw his head back, his eyes rolled at the back of his head as he was getting more and more lost in bliss. He used his moving hand to grab onto the wall and could do nothing else but give into her.

Several minutes later they managed to get out of the shower and collapse on the bed of her room, hands exploring, bodies tangling in unimaginable ways, mixing breath, sighs and incomprehensible words. At some point she managed to throw him on his back, with his head hanging from the bed, and straddle him. He reached for her, as they slowly moved in union, until you couldn't tell where one began and the other ended, and there would be nothing but pure ecstasy.

* * *

_Night fell, Yoh was crowned. People started celebrating, on the streets, in the bars, everywhere. Ren sat up in the bed and looked out the window, straight at the night sky. The crescent of the moon had just risen, clear and surrounded by so many, many stars. Sally pushed herself sitting as well, placed her legs on either side of him and leaned on his back. The sounds from the street came clearly to them, laughter, songs, dancing…All it took was to close your eyes to imagine them, to walk along the streets, to be a part of the crowd…but surprisingly, when you opened them, it wasn't hard to imagine that you were completely isolated, completely torn from those sublunary activities…And somehow, it wasn't as painful when you're not alone in it._

_There was the smell of gunpowder in the air when Ren laced his fingers with Sally's and kissed her back on the bed. The deafening sounds of fireworks gently hid the sounds of their lovemaking…_

A/N-Ok, so I have one epilogue and as the song says "all things come to an end" I hope you enjoyed reading this.

* * *


	20. Chapter 20

* * *

It wasn't like any of them had dreams about life-childhood had been too short for such things, but they had a pretty good idea that it wasn't supposed to be like this. After all, there's a reason why so many people live by the stereotype job-love-family pattern, and they had almost no reason to be any different…well, if you didn't count the seeing of ghosts and the fact that the word normal hardly came out of their mouths.

Sally didn't dream of a prince on a white horse because men weren't meant to be kind and handsome and…perfect. It was almost _un_natural. Ren thought wives were supposed to be humble and understanding, and never added passion to the whole account. Afterwards, he fatefully worked to make up for that ridiculous presumption…and whereas he had a white horse and could pass as a prince, he wasn't perfect…and she was god-damn gonna make sure he stayed that way.

* * *

A relationship like theirs wasn't doomed from the beginning, but it was very clear that it would be hard. They were both strong, independent people. Admitting feelings of affection, let alone a need to be with the person you love, was impossibly difficult.

But who said it would be impossible?

Thankfully, they were both aware of their little flaws and knew when to be patient and calm. Neither Ren, nor Sally was the kind of person to give up on the first obstacle, or swing to the other extremity-overdo things when you've only just started. With a good word, a well placed hint, and an occasional spar to get the strain off, they managed pretty well.

* * *

Funny thing was, their friends never really found out that they were "together" until they actually put it in a straight text for them. Ok, so maybe Faust knew better than most of Ren's love struck buddies, and Sharona did check the entire house before she went to bed, but generally, everyone had opened a mouth wide enough to catch a swarm of flies when they had told them.

They never really tried to hide. They weren't ashamed of their relationship. But it was annoying to hear the oh so persistent "I wish you could be as happy as me" when you probably were HAPPIER, and even though Horo was only joking about setting Ren up with Pirika, the Chinese shaman could hardly hold back from punching the Ainu's nose and reminding him that he had a girlfriend already…for much longer than he had his own, on top of all.

Perhaps it was because they were both quiet and liked to keep to themselves that people didn't put them together as a couple. Ren's icy disdain, Sally's total indifference of the world as a whole, bystanders just couldn't see them in a relationship. One presumed that opposites attract really goes for every love, and that you needed somebody exuberant and passionate to complete such…shall we say frigid people.

But neither complained, because it allowed them to be as wild as they could be, without worrying what people thought or said. They weren't fans of PDA because they knew that sometimes, just sometimes, people didn't need another smooching couple on the streets. They didn't parade with their feelings because sometimes questioning looks became too much. And they god damn didn't need to worry about passion-if they wished, they could display enough to put a pair of rumba dancers to shame.

* * *

Ren soon discovered that scandals and raised voices weren't Sally's worst face. Actually, during their only fight, he discovered her composed state and controlled anger much, much more frightening than any attempt in assassination that she could pull on him. It had happened because Horo, worried about his friend's state of health, had asked if he wasn't rushing things with Sally…going out with her and all. He suggested that Ren should try going out with nicer girls to see what the world had to offer, for the sake of preventing any future mistakes he might commit. Ren found it laughable that of all people, Horo was the one to lecture him on love, yet he had told Sally about his little idea.

There were no outbursts, no screams, no lashing out her oversoul on him, but a simple, deadly cold gaze and a barely uttered phrase: "Yeah, maybe you should check out the other stock on the shelf." And then she had told him to think about it, despite his protests that it was only a joke. She eyed him calmly and said: "If you took it as just a joke, you wouldn't be giving it another thought. Go and take up his offer-and there won't be any sex until you decide what does for you."

The only thing that stopped him from going off and turning Horo into rinsed meat for his stupidity was purely pride-Ren didn't like to think that somebody could tell him what he WOULD do, as if they knew him better than himself, but then again, he didn't tell her he loved her either. So instead, he pretended not to care and stayed away from the Lilly 5 for a good week, until his body reminded him that he had needs of his own.

* * *

"This isn't fair…" he said later that night "I said it was a joke. I never even told Horo that I was considering…"

"Hmm…" Sally stopped her ministrations enough to give him a thoughtful look "I don't know, Ren. Maybe he has a point. Don't you think you should look around a little before screaming to the whole world that you're with me?"

"Relationships aren't marriage, Sally, or another legal form of slavery. Besides….aaaah…It wouldn't be fair for you if I went out with other girls and keep coming back to you whenever I decide I'm tired of them."

"Would it be fair if I returned the favor?" Sally 'accidentally' squeezed him and caused a surge of pleasure run through his body "If we both decided to keep it open and go on dates with other people?"

"Yeah, right...like that's possible." Alas, bluffing when Sally was giving him a hand job sounded like a pathetic wail for mercy.

"Oh?" hiding a smirk was also pretty impossible "Really? I think that Faust may want some company. Seeing that he's so lonely. Or maybe Pino."

"LIKE I'D LET THAT HAPPEN!" Ren's scream echoed through the entire building, but since the Ly's had long gotten used to it, none of them paid any attention to them.

"Why? You said it yourself that it was possible, so why shouldn't I be able to do it as well?"

"BECAUSE THEY'D BE DEAD BEFORE THEY LAID A FINGER ON YOU! TWICE!" he added after some thought. Sally gave him a triumphant grin and bent forward.

"Why?"

Ren gulped loudly. Damn that woman. Then, mustering all of his "I know the skeleton in your closet as well" look, he said:

"Because you're mine alone." And then added in a lower tone "And you can say the same to any little tart Horo tries to force on me."

"Interesting choice of words." Sally seemed pleased.

"Yeah…." He breathed

"Fine, I'll forgive you."

"Great."

"Hmm, I wonder if I had something to drink here."

"Sally?"

"I should have SOMETHING…."

"Sally…"

"Maybe I should run to the store."

"Sally!"

"Yes, Ren?" she looked at him sheepishly

"Can you untie me first?" he sighed.

* * *

He was not suicidal enough to suggest her eyes were red from crying when he had first come to her, but after that night, he didn't wait for Horo to suggest something stupid to punch him in the face.

* * *

Of course, their relationship wasn't entirely sex based-it was ridiculous, since it wouldn't have lasted that long otherwise. Sometimes they sparred together. Sometimes they went to the movies, when there was something on that they hated both (because they never seemed to decide on what they liked best), and made out on the back seats. Sometimes they fought, but they never exchanged harsh words or did anything hurried, because they both knew that they'd be back together by the end of the day. Max.

It wasn't an everybody's dream steady and reliable relationship. There were hardships and sorrow-she was no saint, after all, and the things he wished he didn't do in his past were numerous. There were the times of unbelievable joy and bottled euphoria, the burning passion and the eating fire. And there were those precious minutes of peace when the flames were dying out and the first signs of dawn were flaring on the night's sky, when they lay together, still one, just…being there. Having made it through.

At first he thought that keeping his feelings at bay was the hardest thing to do. With her being all around him, invading his senses, clouding his judgment, just standing there and waiting for him to make a move…After the final fight in the tournament, he discovered a problem that made all previous seem like a piece of cake-he didn't know how to tell Sally he loved her.

Not that he was ashamed or anything…or worried because this whole girlfriend-boyfriend thing was so new to him…but hell, those words seemed to freeze in his throat whenever he tried to muster them. And showing her what he felt was also a bit of an inconvenience, especially since Sally had this annoying tendency to get him turned on whenever he tried to commit some grand gesture for her. Oh, well, at least when his arm healed (a lot fasted than Faust had anticipated), he was free to sneak upon her at every time. Sally, on the other hand, had no problem with ending his pondering the only way she knew that could shut him up for good.

* * *

Knowing Sally was an oxymoron. Nobody could understand her fully, not even Ren, whom she trusted more than your ordinary guy. At one point, staying over for a whole week turned into a routine for them, no matter what the circumstances were. Once, when she was…indisposed, he tried to cheer her up, and then had to jump off the bed when she tried to kick him.

It was only later on that he realized that the little spark in his eyes had warned him to do so, and even though it wasn't much, he felt rather flattered to know at least some things about her.

* * *

There was no denying it-she was a disaster in the kitchen. No matter what the thing was, it never seemed to go according to plan, and "looking a bit like the picture" didn't mean it tasted like it as well. She had the tendency to lose her nerves, and her friends thought she didn't have the patience to do things until they were right…at least in the kitchen. However, her motivation didn't come from the need to eat normal food or even to help out while the chefs of the gang were too busy running on dates, but from the simple desire not to POISON him, and for once be a normal girlfriend.

He told her he didn't want her to be a normal girlfriend, but added that he didn't object to the not poisoning him part. And watching her progress slowly, but surely, he by-and-by made a remark that they should try the same theory in other 'aspects' of their relationship as well.

* * *

She didn't have favorite flowers, or favorite foods, or anything that she preferred to everything else. She went with the flow, without bothering herself with anything as trivial as details. As much as that made things easy for Ren, sometimes he wished he could do something for her, something that would make her say something more than "Great!" and "Mhmm…yeah, that's fine."

One night, he couldn't sleep. The moon was full, and it shone through the open window right into his face. Ren woke up and, as if mesmerized, walked all the way to the clearing in the forest to look at the sky better. He didn't wake Sally up-she had had a rough day.

However, she must've noticed his absence, because only five minutes later she walked out on the clearing. He didn't turn around, too busy watching the stars, she didn't do anything to make him notice her. She just walked up to him and sat down, drawing him to lie in her lap. Noticing his surprised gaze, she just cracked a grin.

"That way you can look at both me and them at the same time." Sally explained, while looking up. The sky was magnificent indeed-midnight velvet rinsed with more stars that they could count in one night. Her lips slightly parted, as she gazed deeper and deeper into it…as for Ren, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

She looked down at him, he pulled her to bend and they kissed. Then, when they parted, both smiled….

...

.....

.......

….and never stopped smiling.

_Finis_

* * *

A/N-Well, that's all from me on this story. Eternal thanks to my beta, once more, and I hope you guys will tell me whether it was worth reading or not. Thank you for your attention (clumsy bow and exits)


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